The repeated reference to “foreign buyers” in your editorial (6 January) as a key driver of the housing crisis, is in danger of misdirecting readers, as well as giving succour to populist narratives. It is not “foreignness” that housing policy needs to address, but the financialisation of the housing market, which has led to residential property being used as a wealth store or investment vehicle without the need to house anyone at all.
Recent academic analysis of the problem in Kensington and Chelsea shows that, in terms of property value, three-quarters of properties bought by overseas buyers in the borough are owned by entities registered in the British Virgin Islands, Jersey and Guernsey. This may indicate that it is the use of offshore vehicles for tax avoidance by UK residents, rather than London falling into the grips of Russian or Chinese billionaires, that the government needs to tackle.
Will McMahon
Director, Action on Empty Homes
• The extra 3% stamp duty on purchases of UK housing by overseas buyers mentioned in the Conservative manifesto, if it actually eventuates, might help, but it would still be fiddling at the edges. A stronger signal would be penal and escalating rates of council tax on property left empty. Straight away, buyers would know that houses and flats are homes first and foremost, not speculative investments, and pricing would start to return within reach of those who wanted to use them as such.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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