With howls from both ends of the political spectrum at the final content of the Budget in October, it may be hard to deduce what might be relevant for your Property Search. Rachel Johnston from Stacks Property Search has some Market Comment that you may consider relevant to your property plans going forward in Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and East Oxfordshire.
“The most important factor is that it is now done and out of the way, and any hesitancy in getting on with a necessary move is now redundant: you can make your plans knowing the overall tone of the property market for the coming period.
We’re hearing that mortgage professionals expect the mortgage rates to stabilise, with a consensus that there should still be another base rate drop to come, which will be good news for most of us on one of the most relevant decisions for property acquisition. We don’t have a significant ‘Non-Dom’ impact in the region, so the closing of that loophole will be negligible for our area.
VAT in school fees should not be a surprise for anyone, and we would expect those considering that as an option in our well-served area to have factored that into their personal budgeting by now. Non-private school catchments will be increasingly important, so the focus on investment in education across the board should be deemed a positive.
IHT changes may be viewed as an incentive for those older members of the family to get on with the overdue downsize and release the cash to the family earlier, with a view to surviving beyond the gifting period. This may see some desirable larger family homes – which have been in short supply – coming to the market. Stacks have long advocated for multi-generational living as the best way to get value from your communal assets, and this is now more true than ever.
In terms of which type of properties will become most desirable, that may well adjust. Those that control their own view will be prioritised by some, whereas others may be able to capitalise on changes to planning and infrastructure plans and make some of the asset income-producing or benefit from likely growth. Energy-efficiency will become ever-more attractive.
All in all, the fundamentals have not changed – do your research, buy best-in-class, and get on with the next phase in your lives.
With SDLT Relief still scheduled to end in April, it ought to be a busy winter. Using the services of a Buying Agent like Rachel Johnston is more advisable than ever – learn more about how a Property Search Agent can get you ahead of the competition below.
