Could the stamp duty holiday stimulate recovery of the housing market?

While the pandemic has brought about a standstill for the UK property market, the upcoming stamp duty holiday might just be the thing to bring it back to life.

Commenting on whether the government may in the future raise the stamp duty levy later on, Black Brick’s Camilla Dell shared in Forbes:

“If you look at past recessions and the speed of the property market recovery, we can predict that the Treasury will most likely not raise stamp duty to make up for this until a year or so down the line, once property prices and transactions have risen again.”

Calls grow louder for full-scale overhaul of UK property tax

Our Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell has joined calls on the government this week to overhaul the tax system for UK property.

Commenting in The Financial Times, Camilla said that the 2016 surcharge, particularly for people whose house sale fall through and leave them with two properties, has created new administrative difficulties:

“The whole property tax regime has just become too complicated. It’s a headache,” she shared.

Why London’s imminent property boom is not all that it seems

Prime central London property sales have “spiked in the wake of the election”, writes Melissa Lawford of The Telegraph.

Sharing his insight for the piece, Black Brick’s Caspar Harvard-Walls shared how, in his experience as a premium buying agent right now, everyone is waiting for the sales to lead to property price increases:

“It is happening, we can feel it happening on the ground,” he said. “Straight away, sellers who would have maybe taken 5 or 10 per cent off their asking price now won’t budge.”

Home sales slide in Battersea Nine Elms

According to Zoopla, some of the Battersea Nine Elms high-end homes have had their prices cut by more than 25% since being relisted for sale.

It comes as the area faces lower-than-expected attraction from wealthy buyers looking to cash in on Battersea’s wider regeneration project.

Commenting on the area and its hopes for becoming a premium property hotspot, our Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared her thoughts in The Financial Times:

“People are quick to bash Nine Elms and that part of Battersea,” Camilla said, “but that’s oversimplifying things. In five or so years’ time, the clatter of power tools will hopefully no longer fill the air and the wind-tunnel streets around the US embassy will have been transformed into the thriving community spaces that developers have promised. Because of its potential, Battersea is an area worth considering”

Read more in the full article here.

How the skies became the last word in super-rich real estate

Having a private jet or a helicopter has never been more popular among the super-rich.

As premium property buying agents who deal with a vast array of high-profile and ultra-wealthy clients, here at Black Brick we have an certain insight into the ‘super-rich’.

Sharing that insight for a new piece in The Telegraph this week, our Founder, Camilla Dell explained that, for many wealthy clients, is of the essence:

“Every minute counts. Ultra high net worth clients live much faster lifestyles and private travel allows them to fit in more activity – and of course do things in comfort and style,” she said. “It’s the norm among London clients spending £20m or so on a country estate to travel by helicopter rather than car.”

Read more in the full article here.

What does selling property off market mean?

People are increasingly starting to list their homes privately, opting out of the popular property websites like Rightmove or Zoopla, and going solo.

But why? Surely it’s much more hassle to go alone, especially for something that can be as stressful as selling your property.

In a new article for The Times this week, Black Brick Partner and top Buying Agent, Caspar Harvard-Walls shared his perspective on the matter:

“We used to be dealing in £20m properties, but now it can be anything from £1m upwards,” he said, estimating that the number of off-market properties on his books has risen from a quarter in 2018 to a third in 2019.

“I was looking on behalf of a buyer who had a £4m budget. I found six houses that met their specific brief and not one of them was on the open market.”

Read more in the full article here.

London house prices dip despite low supply, as sellers hold putting their homes on the market until after the General Election

As we all anxiously await to find out who will be in power at the next General Election, it seems the UK property market is also holding its breath…

In London, people who are thinking of selling their homes are choosing to hold out until after the election, causing a significant 26% reduction in properties listed for sale in November.

Commenting on the political uncertainty and subsequent market impact, our Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared her thoughts for a new article in The Standard:

“Near-term uncertainty will exacerbate the traditional lull in activity in the run-up to Christmas,” she predicted.

“This lull can present an ideal opportunity for buyers to strike. With only seven weeks to go before Christmas, vendors can become desperate to close a deal, and other buyers may be distracted with their festive preparations. Our view is that this can be the best moment to strike.”

Read more in the full article here.

Indian buyers pile in to London’s property market on the hunt for vastu-compliant homes

Vastu, which is commonly understood to be the Indianm equivalent of feng shui, is popping more and more in London’s property market.

“The location and shape of the plot, light, water and internal arrangements of doors, windows and rooms are considered vital to ensuring the health and well-being of occupants”, wrote Andrea Marechal Watson of The Telegraph this week.

Sharing her input as a buying agent who deals with many international property buyers, Black Brick’s Camilla Dell featured her perspective in the article:

“Indian buyers are still very prevalent in London – especially when you look at the wider number of Indians that are buying, known as non-resident Indians,” she said. “Around half of Indian buyers search for vastu-compliant properties, and for those who do, it’s a deal-breaker for a sale. This continues to be very difficult to fulfil, particularly on properties that are already built,”.

Read more in the full article here.

Are Americans coming to rescue London’s ailing property market?

In a new piece for The Telegraph this week, Black Brick Founder, Camilla Dell shares how Americans are increasingly looking to buy up high-end property here in the UK.

Speaking with Isabelle Fraser, Camilla said how “[Black Brick’s] US clients are not put off by Brexit or the threat of a Corbyn government; instead, they view the market as a good buying opportunity,”.

Read more in the full article here.

Where Britain’s youngest millionaire’s live

This week in a new piece for The Times, Melissa York shares where Britain’s wealthiest under-30s are hanging out and living life best.

As a buying agency specialising in premium property in London and the wider UK, we were asked to feature our opinions for this article on current hotspots for ultra-rich youngsters.

Sharing his insight into those that are wealthy heirs, Black Brick buying agent, Tom Kain revealed how many families’ succession plans outline how they spend on property:

“They’ll have a succession plan in place outlining how they’re getting the money. That’s why they’ll tend to choose a safe investment that’s about capital growth and wealth preservation.”

Read more in the full article here.