Ashley Wilsdon and Mark Parkinson were featured in PrimeResi Journal‘s most recent Talking Heads column discussing the impact a Labour-led government could potentially have on the property market. Ashley and Mark both discuss the possibility of a Mansion Tax, the impact of foreign buyers in London, and what this means for the Prime Central London market.
Ashley explains, “The general consensus amongst our clients is that a Labour government is perhaps an inevitability at this stage…and with it a Mansion Tax of sorts is widely expected. A Labour Government under the stewardship of Keir Starmer is less of a concern than it was under Jeremy Corbyn and the London property market seems to have already factored in this likelihood, which is reflected in lower levels of transactions compared to the same period last year. The PCL London market will likely revert to type, namely vendors will be reluctant to sell and buyers will be opportunistic in their approach.”
Mark says “The short answer is we do not know as they have not published any policies. If a recent article citing a Labour think tank on possible/probable housing policy is correct, it seems to be more focussed on helping first-time and low-income buyers get on the ladder with government backed mortgages etc, rather than clobbering the owners and buyers of prime property. They did suggest further increased SDLT for foreign buyers, but it would be quite difficult to define a ‘foreign’ buyer given the very diverse nature of London as a city.
One question we are asked increasingly is about the threat of a Mansion Tax. This was a recurrent theme in the run up to the 2019 General Election and the thinking remains the same. There may well be increases in Council Tax at the higher end or indeed more Council Tax bands, but a Mansion Tax as such still looks difficult, if not impossible to implement in an equitable way.”
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