London landlords are selling up their buy-to-let properties at record rates as anticipated tax hikes from the U.K. Labour government add further pressure to the once lucrative investment sector.
Almost one-third (29%) of homes currently for sale in the capital were previously rented out, data published on Thursday by property portal Rightmove showed.
The spike mirrors a wider uptick in rental property sales across the U.K., where 18% of all nationwide listings were previously tenanted, according to Rightmove.
Rightmove said it was not yet clear that the figures pointed to a “mass exodus” by landlords, but rather to a gradual decline in the appeal of the buy-to-let sector. The previous five-year average of former rental listings for sale was 14%, while the proportion of ex-rental properties on the market in 2010 was 8%, Rightmove said.
It highlighted that it expected tax hikes in Finance Minister Rachel Reeve’s forthcoming Oct. 30 Autumn Statement — including a possible increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) — to become a “potential driver” of the increased sales.
I also hope they find a way to force owners of empty houses to sell them on. They interviewed a guy on the radio whose job it was to map empty houses and he reckons there are more of them than there are families looking for a home. Making them available would go a long way to solving the housing crisis and taking some of the heat out of the market.
It’s really not hard to find a way, extremely high taxes on any property vacant for more than 182 days in a year. With our current system I think you effectively get a tax discount for vacant properties. (obviously there would have to be exceptions for people in hospital/prison/etc, but the principle is sound)
What they need to find is the will to do it.