The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said Britain’s red-hot housing market cooled a little in July due to the partial removal of a temporary cut to property purchase taxes which caused a slight drop in demand from new buyers.
RICS in its recent survey announced on Thursday August 12, that the monthly gauge of house prices dropped in July, to +79 from +82 in June, which had been highest level since the late 1980s.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak cut stamp duty, a tax on house purchases, in July 2020. The tax cut aimed to reverse a slump in property sales at the start of the pandemic, and helped fuel a surge in property prices and some new construction. Many households were already seeking more spacious housing suited to working from home.
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist said although the tapering in stamp duty is beginning to have some impact on RICS activity indicators, the overall tone to the market remains firm with the metrics capturing price expectations showing few signs of wavering.
While buyer enquiries weakened for the first time after four months of increase, Rubinsohn said buyers continued to put a premium on spacious properties – explaining why house price expectations remained elevated.
Mortgage lender Halifax said last week that this had helped to keep momentum in the market, after it reported an unexpected month-on-month increase in house prices for July.
