Barratt Homes, which is building new homes on the Isle of Wight, is urging investors to act now to beat the rise in stamp duty due to come into force in April.
The five star housebuilder has already seen an increase in investors looking to complete their buy-to-let purchases before the April deadline and says that it has a number of properties at Bluebell Meadows which will be ready to beat the rise.
Michelle Storer sales director at Barratt Homes, said:
“We’ve seen an increase in enquiries from investors looking to beat the stamp duty changes since the announcement late last year. It seems that the potential of increased costs have spurred people on to make a purchase quickly.”
From April, people buying a home specifically to rent it out will have to pay an extra three per cent in stamp duty, meaning someone buying a £200,000 house will have to pay an additional £6,000 in stamp duty.
Michelle added:
“On average it takes around eight weeks to purchase a new house so while the clock is certainly ticking, there is still time for buyers to make an investment before the new rules come in.”
Barratt’s advice follows news from the Council of Mortgage lenders which revealed a 35% annual leap in gross buy-to-let lending in November 2015, when 23,300 mortgages were issued. A survey of landlords by the Residential Lettings Association (RLA) found 46% trying to complete new property purchases before the higher stamp duty rate in April and figures from Connells says that between December 2014 and December 2015 the number of valuations conducted for buy-to-let properties soared by 86 per cent.
Barratt currently has a range of two and three bedroom homes available on the Isle of Wight at its new Bluebell Meadows development where prices start from £167,500. For further details please call Barratt on 0844 5710 385, or log onto barratthomes.co.uk
