LONDON, Sept 17 (Askume) – Demand for London’s most expensive homes fell last month as high-income earners worried about the prospect of tax hikes by Britain’s new left-wing government, a property data firm said on Tuesday.
Lonraz said property sales in key areas of the UK capital were down 7.5% compared to the same period last year, while new sales instructions were up 8.1%.
The average selling price of prime properties fell by 4.2% compared to the same period last year.
Lonres head of research Nick Gregory said Labor finance minister Rachel Reeves’ focus on tax hikes when announcing her first budget on October 30 would end the market rally soon after the election in July.
“Negative sentiment at the top end of the market has been exacerbated by more specific budget concerns such as the ‘non-dom’ and other tax changes,” Gregory said, referring to the previous Conservative government’s announcement in March of tax relief on foreign income for some wealthy taxpayers .
Chancellor Keir Starmer said last month that the Budget would be “unmanageable” and that “broad-shouldered people will have to shoulder the heaviest burden”, sparking fears of a rise in taxes paid by the richest taxpayers.
Gregory said while some estate agents were reporting strong interest from overseas buyers, others said some existing international residents were also looking to sell.
