Following their quick catch-up last week on the commercial property market, Bull and Bear do the same this week for the residential sector.
Disappointingly, annual UK house price growth slowed down to 2.1% in August. Consumer confidence has also been dented by growing fears of potential job losses, while mortgage rates ticked up again last month.
The housing market is currently delicately balanced and the noise around new property taxes is concerning. Supposedly, changes to SDLT, capital gains tax and national insurance tax for landlords are all possibilities in late-November’s Budget. Bull and Bear's concern is that transaction activity between now and the Budget will grind to a halt as a result of the speculation.