By Hugh Graham, David Byers and Carol Lewis
Black Brick: Prime London Was Already a Buyer’s Market Before Trump’s Tariff Turmoil
As global markets reel from the uncertainty unleashed by US trade tariffs, Black Brick founder Camilla Dell has been putting the impact on London’s prime property market into its proper context — offering The Times a measured, expert perspective on what the turbulence means for buyers and sellers at the top end.
Dell, who founded Black Brick in 2007 on the eve of the global financial crisis, was clear that tariff uncertainty is the latest headwind for a market already under significant pressure — not the primary cause of its slowdown. Stamp duty for overseas buyers can now reach 19%, compared with 4% in 2008, non-dom tax advantages have been abolished, and buy-to-let incentives have largely disappeared. “The result of stamp duty increases and non-dom tax changes have caused prices in London to decrease to levels not seen since the financial crisis,” she told The Times.
Crucially, however, Dell drew a sharp distinction between the current environment and 2008. Today’s market challenges are structural and tax-driven rather than the product of a credit crisis — meaning the doom-loop of repossessions and forced selling that characterised the financial crisis is not a feature of the current landscape. Homeowners are far more extensively stress-tested than they were in 2008, and repossession rates remain extremely low.
For buyers in prime central London, the combination of elevated stock levels, motivated sellers, prices at multi-year lows and the prospect of further interest rate cuts creates a window of opportunity that well-advised buyers should be considering carefully. Black Brick’s experience — founded in the depths of the last downturn and active through every market cycle since — positions it uniquely to help clients navigate conditions like these.
As featured in The Times
Read the piece here.