Housing Market Quiet and Subdued
Posted: 20/04/2010 Filed under: Small Business, UK Investment, Uncategorized | Tags: business, business concerns, Moving to London, moving to UK, Small Business, uk investments, uk property Leave a comment »I always take a real interest in the housing market because so many of my clients have their business interests in this area. As I have been looking through the stories coming out of this sector in the last few weeks I have started to become a little confused. I know there are a fair few things up in the air at the moment but the housing market seems to be giving out the most mixed messages of all.
Latest in a long line of contradictory stories is an article in The Times this week that talks of mortgage lending reaching 24% this February and March which it acknowledges is an impressive figure , but then describes the sector as being quiet and subdued. The council of mortgage lenders said that gross mortgage lending in March reached £11.5 billion, up from £9.3 billion in February. The reasoning behind its quiet and subdued claim is the figures always rise at this time of the year as people are motivated to action by the arrival of spring.
And even after all that is said Paul Samter a leading economist with the CML offers us a statement that again seems to offer us hope, saying that though recovery in this area is a little slow it is steady.
Whatever way you look at it is a confusing time for people involved in this sector but at least most people seem to think that the long term prognosis is quite bright.
Stamp Duty Tax reform Leaves Landlord’s In The Cold
Posted: 28/03/2010 Filed under: Small Business, UK Investment | Tags: business concerns, corporate tax, Taxation, uk investments, uk property, UK tax, VAT 3 Comments »A lot of my clients are involved in the UK property market and despite a nasty bump in the road there not so long ago most of them are managing to hold on admirably to making a living. It sometimes seems they manage this despite the government leading them absolutely no support. I don’t think it came as a shock to anyone on Wednesday when stamp duty tax reform failed to be extended to buy to let buyers but there were still those that where rightly disappointed.
As many of you are probably no doubt aware by now the Chancellor Mr Darling announced changes to the stamp duty laws that will allow first time buyers to purchase a property up to £250 000 without having to pay stamp duty. I am not opposed to this at all, I like to see things being done to support those (mainly) younger people that are making a go of it. I really do think though that given the fact that many are predicting that there will be a housing crisis in Britain’s very near future, the government could have been a little innovative and given landlords looking to extend their portfolio the same courtesy.
I am not, of course the only one who feels this way, many property ,market experts have expressed similar opinions but even though they are being told over and over by these experts so far the government refuses to listen. I honestly believe, however, that they cannot block their ears forever, something has to change. And as for landlord’s and VAt that is a whole other story. The next blog in fact.
If you run a property business in the UK or are looking to set one up then get in contact with us her at St Matthew’s eAccounting. We are the experts in both UK tax and UK company set up.
Property prices Drop: Investment Opportunity
Posted: 26/02/2010 Filed under: Investment, Small Business, UK Company Set Up | Tags: uk companies, uk investments, uk property 1 Comment »If you are looking to start a property investment business in the UK or are one of the many who already have one, then there was some good news for you this week. House prices dropped in the UK for the first time in nine months. I have many clients who thought they had seen the last of falling prices in the UK market but this seems to suggest otherwise.
According to the reports in the various national newspapers and the bank nationwide the freezing weather was the partial culprit. They also mention the recent end to the stamp duty holiday as deserving some blame.
The 1pc drop seen in February bought to an end the run of nine months of rises that house owners had been enjoying. Most of the experts say that it is far too early to say if the figures are the indication of a trend especially since they tend to rely on the three monthly figures as a more reliable indicator and those portray an overall upward movement in house prices.
Either way the property market in the UK seems ripe for investment at the moment so long as you are not trying to make a fast buck but rather are prepared to invest for some very decent long term returns. Property investment is never a mistake in my opinion so long as you are realistic about it. It will make you money long term.
If you are thinking of starting a property investment company or any other type of UK company for that matter then we are here to help. We have vast experience in UK company set up.
UK Property Prices To Flatline
Posted: 07/02/2010 Filed under: UK Investment | Tags: uk investments, uk property Leave a comment »As usual it depends on who you listen to but the UK property market looks like it may go through a period of at least slower growth.
The latest press release from what some consider to be one of the cheerleaders of Britain’s property market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors(Rics), is this month headlined “House prices continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace”.
It has to be said though that their statement was still very much looking on the bright side. They used a lot of words like ‘recovery’ and referred to “demand outstripping supply. All in all for what could be considered one of their less cheery reports things did not sound too bad.
It is true though that even Rics was forced to acknowledge that not every thing is looking completely rosy. If you look closely at their data you can see that house prices dipped slightly in five out of the twelve UK regions they examined. They put this down to the fact that recovery is less entrenched in some areas of England than others and they may have a point.
Not according to less optimistic experts though.Over at Merrill Lynch they are suggesting that UK house price optimists are in for something of a shock. They seem to think that there may even be further drops.
I am not betting large money either way in the short term but I will say this; if you are looking to invest in the UK property market then you could do a lot worse than buying now. So long as you have learned the lesson that property is a slow burn investment you will not go far wrong. Things will get better, everyone agrees on that it is just the timing they are arguing about.
