RICS have been outspoken about the property market and they are looking for housing taxes to be amended. One area of focus that RICS is looking at is stamp duty with respect to the downsizing community.

Many people struggle to downsize in the UK

There is an ageing population in the United Kingdom but for assorted reasons, this group is finding it difficult to sell their current homes and move into a smaller property. Numerous studies suggest that many people within the elderly age-group would be keen to downsize but the circumstances in the market need to be improved. One way that the market could be improved, according to RICS is that stamp duty could be lowered or even removed for elderly people looking to downsize their home.

This call came on the back of findings within the latest monthly house price survey from RICS. There were questions relating to property taxes and the challenges faced by young buyers in getting on to the property ladder. The findings of the survey suggest that close to 50% of estate agency surveyors believe that improved tax incentives would help to encourage more people to downsize.

It was also suggested that people moving out of a larger home into a smaller property could be exempt from having to pay stamp duty. It may be that this won’t just apply to the elderly, it could be offered to every group who is looking to downsize their home.

There are many opinions to what should happen next to help the UK property market

It is inevitable that there will be problems and complaints with this approach. There is also the fact that depending on where the person currently lives and where they are moving to, their new home, which is smaller in size, may be costlier than the home they are selling to make their move.

There have also been calls for stamp duty to be completely scrapped with Council Tax rates being adjusted to balance out any shortfall. This is being supported by people who are keen to remove the stamp duty burden from the point of purchase. This is an extremely expensive time of a property transaction and there is no denying that removing some of the initial burden will be of benefit to many buyers.

It is good that there are many opinions and ideas as to how to improve the property market, but given that there are so many opinions, it may be difficult for one idea to gather popularity and be viewed as the obvious choice.

There is no denying that the ageing population and the challenges faced by people looking to downsize is an issue and one that must be resolved as quickly as possible. If you’re looking to remain up to date with the property market, nationally and here in Bournemouth, make sure you rely on Austin Property Services as we are always happy to help.