Scotland homes sales boosted by Property Tax change

June 22, 2016

According to the recent Your Move / Acadata Scotland House Price Index.

 
Home sales jump 11% annually in the first year of the Land and Buildings
Transaction Tax (LBTT), compared to the twelve months before the tax.

Average house prices are down 7.8% year-on-year, due to a lack of higher value home sales.

House prices hold in April, despite the new LBTT surcharge on buy-to-let properties and second homes.

Uplift in Edinburgh and Clackmannanshire home values, but house prices dip in majority of local areas.

Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, reportedly comments: “After a year of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), it’s now possible to see its impact across the Scottish housing market. By cutting the cost of purchasing cheaper homes, LBTT has led to an 11% increase in sales over the last year. With 104, 344 home sales in the last twelve months, the market has outdone the previous year’s 93,601 sales. These figures confirm that lower purchase taxes for property can significantly boost activity in the housing market, while also making it more affordable for first- time buyers to get a foot on the ladder. The Scottish Government should consider lifting the LBTT bands higher, if they
want to build on the foundations of this policy, in order to support Scotland’s fragile property and construction sector”.

To read the rest of the comments and the Scotland House Price Index in full click here

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

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