Direct Property News

You may have to pay capital gains tax if you make a profit when you sell property that is not your primary home, such as a buy-to-let property, business premises, land and inherited property, but there are ways in which you could potential reduce the amount owed to the taxman. Danny Cox, chartered financial planner at Hargreaves Lansdown, a leading provider of investment management and pension products and services to private investors and employers in the UK, offers the following top tips: 1) Use the annual exemption A married couple (or those in a registered civil partnership) can make gains of £44,400 in this tax year and next without any charge to tax. Investments can normally…

A lack of affordability in the capital is driving chances of potential buyers getting onto the property ladder further out. While the gap between income and house prices has increased across most-regions of the UK in recent times, the situation is more acute in London.

By the time 18-month-old Princess Charlotte is in the sixth form, the average price of a home in a third of London boroughs will be £1 million, according to a new forecast. Property consultants JLL carried out research in an attempt to chart house prices year by year in the capital until 2032. Across London it finds the average home will be worth £483,968 by the end of this year, and by the same time next year, the figure will have increased to £508,166 — a paper profit of more than £24,000.

Whether, you’re new to the landlord-life, a landlord by chance or an experienced property investors, here are five things you should know about rental property. 1. House prices have remained stable Activity in the buy-to-let sector has bounced back from April’s increase on stamp duty and any uncertainty that has hit the country after Britain’s decision to leave the EU. Rightmove actually reported a 30% increase in the number of investor enquiries between the second and third quarter of this year.

About 25% of properties bought in the UK in the third quarter of 2016 were a buy-to-let or second home purchase, figures recently released by the tax department revealed. Following the 3% stamp duty surcharge coming into effect earlier this year, more accurate figures can now be published, indicating how many investment properties were bought over a certain period of time. The HMRC data revealed that the Government has collected about £670 million in stamp duty since introducing the new stamp duty rules.

The path towards Brexit will dictate what happens in the UK housing market over the next few years but it is expected to remain reasonably strong and active, according to a new analysis. There may be some turbulence along the way with article 50 to be enacted by march 2017 and the country set to leave in 2019, but the latest forecast from real estate firm JLL says that there will still be moderate growth with the residential market picking up again from 2020 onwards.