The impact of the government’s Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) reforms, which were implemented a year ago, has attracted a mixed response from Liverpool agents. 

Representatives of the city’s property industry have reflected on how the changes introduced on 4 December 2014, which make the first £125,000 of a property price exempt from the levy, have affected the region’s market.

After the threshold, charges are now introduced in tax bands on the remainder of a property’s cost, whereas under previous rules, buyers paid Stamp Duty tax at a single rate on the entire property price.

Dan Pennington, director of estate agent Century 21 in Liverpool, says: “The Stamp Duty reforms have obviously had a positive effect on the property market and certainly buyers in the Liverpool property market, as most property purchases fall into the bracket where the new reforms offer quite substantial savings.

“In truth, most buyers were not initially aware how much the changes would save them but, once explained, it certainly encouraged them to act and make offers, and also removed that £250,000 pricing boundary that used to be there.”

Debra Beach, branch manager of Liverpool agent Keppie Massie Residential, also reports a “positive impact on buyer confidence,” adding: “It has reduced one of the financial barriers which particularly affected second-time movers in the city, and has certainly assisted in securing more sales in the £125,000 to £250,000 price bracket.”

With further changes to SDLT announced in Chancellor George Osborne’s recent Autumn Statement and Spending Review though, which will see a further 3% added onto the tax for additional property purchases such as buy-to-let and second homes from April 2016, Louis Anastasiou, managing director of Andrew Louis, has voiced concerns that the government has “given with one hand and taken with the other”.

From his point of view, the impact of last year’s SDLT reforms hasn’t brought a dramatic impact as “there were some areas in the city that were exempt”. However, Louis suggests the forthcoming changes, in addition to other legislation that landlords are being subjected to, could “cause rents to continue to rise” in a rental sector which is still experiencing strong demand.

He adds: “In my view buy-to-let is still a good investment in the long term, but these are additional costs.”

The government is consulting on how the latest changes will be specifically implemented, so that corporate landlords aren’t affected.

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