Homes in Hants

The number of people moving home gathered momentum in Scotland last year, but stalled south of the border.

The latest Bank of Scotland’s figures show that the introduction of the Scottish Government’s new land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT), which has provided a savings boost for many homemovers, combined with rising house prices, helped increase the number of house moves by 3 per cent in 2015, from 31,8001 in 2014 to an estimated 32,850.

Over the past five years, the average price paid by homemovers has grown by 18 per cent from £170,418 in 2010 to £201,4292 in 2015 – an increase of £31,010, equivalent to a monthly increase of £517. This rise in equity, combined with the new LBTT (replacing the UK Stamp Duty Land Txa) helped to make homeowners more financially mobile.

Under the previous arrangements, the average stamp duty paid by a Scottish homemover was £2,014 (based on an average house price of £201,429). Under the new system, this has fallen to £1,129.

In England, similar conditions put the market in favour of homeowners, with the Stamp Duty change saving an average of £4,530 on purchases, while rising house prices again boosted equity levels.

The number of movers, though, dropped from the previous year.

Figures from Lloyds Bank show that 365,0001 moved house in 2015, slightly behind the 366,400 who moved in 2014. Whilst the 2015 levels are 16 per cent higher than the 2009 market low of 315,800, they are just half of the 2006 peak level of 712,000.

Over the past five years, the average price paid by homemovers has grown by 30 per cent from £210,252 in 2010, to £273,4912 in 2015 – an increase of £63,239, equivalent to a monthly increase of £1,054. This was a marginally faster rise than the increase in average house prices across the whole market (29 per cent).

Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, says: “The 2015 stamp duty changes, low mortgage rates and rising real pay growth, provided more favourable conditions for homemovers in 2015, although that hasn’t translated to any increase in numbers. We might have expected the change to the stamp duty structure to have resulted in a greater numbers. The ongoing increase in house prices throughout the year will have been especially welcomed by those who bought at the peak of house prices, who have been looking to rebuild their equity in order to make their next move.”

American expats flock to France – but prefer Paris

American expats continue to flock to France, according to the latest official statistics, but prefer life in Paris than in country’s rural regions.

Data from INSEE show that around 34,000 US expats now life in France, but that 16,500 live in Paris and the surrounding Ile de France region, rather than live elsewhere. Expat Forum cites the presence of international schools in the capital as a key factor in the population trend, while companies doing business in France tend to have headquarters in Paris, making the central city a more convenient place to both work and raise a family.

Author – Dan Johnson