Further reading
Earlier this month we saw interest rates hiked up to 3%, piling on extra pressure for the many homeowners with variable rate mortgages and for those who are due to renew in the next coming months.
To add to the pressure on the market the autumn annual statement was released last week:
Some of the bad news:
Personal tax will have the threshold reduced at which the 45p rate becomes payable from £150,000 to £125,140, with those earning £150,000 or more paying just over £1,200 more a year.
Reformed allowances on unearned income - The dividend allowance will be cut from £2,000 to £1,000 next year and then to £500 from April 2024.
The annual exempt amount for capital gains tax will be cut from £12,300 to £6,000 next year and then to £3,000 from April 2024.
Stamp duty cuts will now only stay in place until March 2025.
Full Autumn Statement details here
By retaining the stamp duty cuts for another two years this offers 'some' welcome support to the housing market. We are seeing mortgage companies starting to drop their rates, hopefully with the news today, this will ensure that property transactions will rise going in to the new year.
In the auction market, October saw the percent sold was down by 9.8% although lots offered had risen. It can be common that lot numbers may increase in the short term then start to fall back to standard levels when things stabilise. The number of lots often changes throughout the year, and it is not uncommon to see spikes towards the end of a financial year.
The question is, are we going to see the market slow down as house prices drop or are we going to see an increase in lots with homeowners wanting to downsize to cope with ongoing financial pressures and the cost of living? It will be interesting to see the fore coming figures over the next coming months.
You can view our November newsletter here.
Essential Information Group - News and Information
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