Stamp Duty could slow regional recovery
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveryors (RICS) has said that its members in the Midlands, Wales and Scotland are expecting a drop in the housing market following the end of the stamp duty holiday.
A 1% tax will once more be levied on properties sold for £125,000 at the end of the year. Since September 2008 a temporary 'holiday' has been in effect, with the threshold for the duty set at £175,000. This was to revive the UK's housing market - the sector which fuels the construction industry and provides many opportunities for building jobs throughout the nation.
RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said to the BBC that though the concern was limited to surveyors in certain parts of the country, "the additional transaction cost is still a worry to many, particularly first time buyers, and is a threat to the market in the areas of the country that are still seing a weak price environment".
The warnings of RICS are likely to be unwelcome to many of those working in housing jobs in the affected regions. This week the housing market in the UK reported its highest figures for over a year, and the country's largest housebuilding companies were reported as cautiously optimistic about market health.
However the immediate effect on this growth due to the stamp duty is likely to be small. Surveyors in the North, the area with the highest percentage of growth in housebuilding, believe it is unlikely to be affected. There, the average property costs less than the £125,000 lower threshold.
Also most of the new properties being built are in London and the south-east of the England. As houses there are generally well above the £175,000 threshold, surveyors believe that it will have little to no effect on the market.
Chartered surveyors fill one of the most crucial jobs in construction. As well as evaluating and approving building plans according to government regulations, they offer advice on maintenance and their role also includes some of the responsibilities of a health and safety job. They assess the risks, feasibility and potential legal issues on any significant construction work that takes place in the UK.