The recent unveiling of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Budget 2024 has sparked a wave of optimism within the property industry. Despite some reservations about future economic growth, there's a hopeful buzz, especially among those in property.
What does this Budget mean for you? With rising interest rates and living costs, we've been eagerly waiting for measures to liven up the market.
Key Highlights:
• Lower Capital Gains Tax: Good news for investors! The Chancellor plans to cut the tax on property sales from 28% to 24%, which could encourage more buying and selling.
• Stamp Duty Changes: There are tweaks to stamp duty relief for those buying multiple properties. It might take some getting used to, but it could shake things up in a good way.
• Fairer Rental Rules: The proposed tax changes aim to level the playing field between short-term and long-term rentals, which could make the rental market more stable. Removing tax advantage for holiday-let landlords will make some consider offering their property to long-term tenants instead. Own a holiday let? Lawrence Williams, Head of Webbers Lettings shares his comments on what the budget means for you. Watch the video here
Beyond the big headlines, there are some other nuggets in the Budget:
• Lower National Insurance: Workers will see a bit more money in their pockets with cuts to National Insurance contributions.
• Benefit Adjustments: Families might benefit from changes to child benefits and extended support for those struggling with living costs.
Malcolm Prescott, Webbers Managing Director said, “I don’t believe that any of us really expected that there would be big changes for the property sector, but there are some incentives in there that push towards a more positive feel. Rightly the concentration seems to be centred on overall cost of living and so any changes that put a little more money in everyone’s back pocket must be a helpful and positive move. The decision to reduce capital gains from 28% to 24% should encourage should encourage certain sectors of the property market as well – we should not forget that mortgage interest rates are far more competitive as we move into the spring with the real prospect of rates dropping a little further in the Summer. Given all of the negativity that the property market has had to deal with, it remains remarkably robust, with results from our offices clearly showing that there are more people looking to move early in 2024 than at the same period in 2023 and marginally up on 2019, which was the last “normal” market prior to the abnormal pandemic markets”
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