More home buyers are resorting to mortgages to purchase London’s most expensive houses and apartments as rising prices drag them into higher tax brackets.
Seventy-four percent of homes costing £1 million (US$1.3 million) or more in the UK capital were bought with a mortgage in the three months through July, up from 65 per cent a year earlier, according to Hamptons International. The figure was as low as 31 per cent during the depths of the financial crisis in 2009.
“Higher stamp duty above the million-pound mark means that owners have to fork out for more tax, eating into equity they might otherwise have had to buy outright,” said Fionnuala Earley, residential research director at Hamptons. “The rise in house prices means that many normal family homes in the capital now attract this value.”
Stamp-duty rates climb according to property values, with homeowners paying a levy of £43,750 (Dh218,085) on a £1m house, according to HM Revenue and Customs figures for single property ownership. That jumps to £153,750 for a £2m purchase.
The proportion of buyers using mortgages to acquire homes costing £1m or more rose in every UK region. The East of England matched the nine percentage-point jump in London, while Wales registered a one percentage-point rise, the Hamptons data show.
_____________
Read more:
London property market sees biggest drop in asking prices this decade
Minister proposes tax on foreign buyers of UK property
_____________
In April, the proportion for London reached 72 per cent, which was the highest single-month figure since the broker began compiling the data in 2007. Sales of homes in London’s best districts rose 25.3 per cent in the three months through July from a year earlier, according to data compiled by researcher Lonres.
While there are signs that growth in UK house prices is starting to slow, property values are still up an average 18 per cent across the country over the past decade, with the gain in the capital at 78 per cent, according to Savills and Nationwide Building Society.
More about Middle East geopolitics
Law 41.9.4 of men’s T20I playing conditions
The fielding side shall be ready to start each over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed.
An electronic clock will be displayed at the ground that counts down seconds from 60 to zero.
The clock is not required or, if already started, can be cancelled if:
• A new batter comes to the wicket between overs.
• An official drinks interval has been called.
• The umpires have approved the on field treatment of an injury to a batter or fielder.
• The time lost is for any circumstances beyond the control of the fielding side.
• The third umpire starts the clock either when the ball has become dead at the end of the previous over, or a review has been completed.
• The team gets two warnings if they are not ready to start overs after the clock reaches zero.
• On the third and any subsequent occasion in an innings, the bowler’s end umpire awards five runs.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Harry & Meghan
Director: Liz Garbus
Stars: Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Rating: 3/5
All The Light We Cannot See
Creator: Steven Knight
Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, Aria Mia Loberti
Rating: 1/5
Meg 2: The Trench
Director: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Jason Statham, Jing Wu, Cliff Curtis, Page Kennedy, Cliff Curtis, Melissanthi Mahut and Shuya Sophia Cai
Rating: 2/5
SPECS
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 750hp at 7,500rpm
Torque: 800Nm at 5,500rpm
Transmission: 7 Speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 332kph
Fuel consumption: 12.2L/100km
On sale: Year end
Price: From Dh1,430,000 (coupe); From Dh1,566,000 (Spider)