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Richard Warren

Home buyers in Britain are racing to complete deals on GBP1 million (HK$12.55 million) properties to avoid paying thousands of pounds extra in stamp duty tax.
Stamp duty on homes valued at GBP1 million or more will increase from 4 per cent to 5 per cent on April 6 as part of a package of revenue-raising measures introduced by the last Labour government. 
Homes bought after that will cost GBP10,000 more in tax to buy than the day before. The current coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats has adopted this tax rise into its programme.
The housing market in London and surrounding southeast England will be most affected by the  rise. 
According to property website, Zoopla, 85 per cent of stamp duty raised on sales of homes for GBP1 million or more last year was from that corner of Britain. 
In London, James Pace, partner in charge of estate agency at Knight Frank's Chelsea office, said: 'We have experienced one of the busiest starts to the calendar year since we opened five years ago, and almost every buyer is wanting to complete before the stamp duty increase in April.' 
Many sellers were not aware of the planned change, he added. 
 Nigel Mitchell, partner in charge of Knight Frank's office in Guildford, Surrey, said: 'There is no doubt that if a completion is planned for March or April, buyers will be pushing to make sure  it happens before the deadline.'
Russell Hunt, managing director of London buyers agent, Property Hunt, said there would be a 'stampede'  to complete deals in the weeks before April 6.
'My advice to Hong Kong buyers would be to complete before April 6,' Hunt said, 'Exchanging [contracts] before then is not enough.'
Vendors who fail to complete a sale before the deadline  may find it tougher to do so afterwards, he said.
'Any Hong Kong people selling, particularly in a chain, [must] keep the pressure on to ensure all the transactions complete before that date. I have known many deals to fall through for much less, such as garden furniture.'
From April onwards, the stamp duty change would affect how estate agents price  properties, Hunt said. 
'Properties will be valued at around GBP1.05 million with the idea of getting just under GBP1 million,' he said. Buyers would offer  GBP999,000 to avoid paying the additional tax. 
Noel Flint, partner in charge of Knight Frank's Knightsbridge office, said fewer multimillion-pound properties would come up for sale following the tax rise, because it would make the cost of moving more expensive.
Mitchell believed that vendors would bear the brunt of the stamp duty increase, because buyers would negotiate a reduction in sales price to compensate for the extra tax they pay.
Tax incentive
Coalition government has adopted plan initiated by Labour Party 
The current rate of stamp duty  on the sale of homes increases on April 6 from 4 per cent to: 5%
To get around the new rule, to get  offers of GBP999,000 on a home, a property might be valued at: GBP1.05m



UK stamp duty rise sees rush to complete