Thursday, November 21, 2024

Reeves’s stamp duty rise sparks 24 hours of property chaos

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“This will have a knock-on effect on the rest of the chain. Buy-to-let investors tend to be at the bottom of the chain and any changes here will impact the chain moving up.”

Some buyers have tried to pass the new cost on to sellers. James Denyer, of estate agent Sheens in Clacton, Essex, said one buyer lowered their offer after the Budget, a practice known as gazundering.

He added: “This morning we’ve been trying to renegotiate the price to cover the extra £5,000 which has just been added on to a buyer’s stamp duty bill. They are trying to purchase a £260,000 second home. Sellers are going to have to take some of this burden.”

Martin Stewart, of brokerage London Money, said he received one call “within an hour of the Budget” from a buyer hoping to renegotiate to cover the additional £13,000 stamp duty bill.

But not everyone affected is trying to buy additional properties. Mr Stewart said: “This stamp duty increase will not only catch second homebuyers and buy-to-let landlords, but also those who may have had no option but to do a let-to-buy in order to move home.”

Riz Malik, of brokerage R3 Mortgages, is helping one buyer use let-to-buy. To secure their dream home, they will have to cough up an extra £15,000.

Mr Malik said: “Getting these sorts of chains tied up has already been a nightmare. And now one of my clients is having to find £15,000 – that’s before I speak to other people in the same position. It’s a major issue.

“Let-to-buy was a way of helping people move. I wouldn’t be surprised if you start seeing more deals fall through.”

For those closer to completion, Wednesday evening was something of a panic. Laura Dam Villena, of property consultant Cluttons, said Ms Reeves’s Budget “fuelled a rush of last-minute transactions” before midnight yesterday.

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