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By Andy Bruce
LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Asking prices for houses in
Britain slipped over the past month for the first time this
year, as the partial removal of a temporary cut to property
purchase taxes took the edge off demand for larger homes, a
survey showed on Monday.
Real estate website Rightmove said asking prices fell by
0.3% in its August survey after a 0.7% increase in July, dragged
down by "upper end" houses of four bedrooms or more, which saw
asking prices fall by 0.8% in July.
The August survey covered property first advertised on
Rightmove between July 11 and Aug. 7.
The readings chimed with a report from the Royal Institution
of Chartered Surveyors last week, which also suggested the
reversal of property purchase tax cuts had started to affect an
otherwise strong market.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak cut stamp duty, a tax on house
purchases, in July 2020. But from last month it started to
return to its pre-pandemic level.
The tax cut aimed to reverse a slump in property sales at
the start of the pandemic, and helped fuel a surge in property
prices and some new construction. Many households were already
seeking more spacious housing suited to working from home.
"Our analysis shows that average prices have only fallen in
the upper-end sector, which is usually more affected by seasonal
factors such as the summer holidays and has also seen the
greatest withdrawal of stamp duty incentives," said Tim
Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove.
He said buyer demand remained strong, with Rightmove
predicting a renewed bounce in selling activity and asking
prices during the coming months.
"We also anticipate that more property will come to market
when those owners have more clarity over their employers'
long-term balance of home and office working," Bannister said.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)
