In the aftermath of the UK’s Brexit vote and following a steady stream of residential tax increases, just released statistics from HM Land Registry, analysed by London Central Portfolio (LCP), has shown an unprecedented decrease in top-end sales across England and Wales in the first half of this financial year, which has seen Government revenues from SDLT fall by around £500m.
Recording sales from May to October, the data reflects the period immediately following the introduction on April 1st 2016 of the new 3% Additional Rate Stamp Duty (ARSD) on second properties.
In the super-prime market, sales above £10m have fallen 75%, compared with the same 6-month period last year, whilst a reduction in sales of 51% between £5-10m has also been seen. This means that only 262 properties have been sold in the last 6 months. Large falls in transactions have also been witnessed across the other ‘luxury’ price bands, with a 36% and 33% reduction in sales between £2m - £5m and £1m - £2m, respectively.