x

Angus Bearn

3135 Profile Views

About Me

my expertise in the industry

Angus's Recent Activity

Excellent and important research. Thanks.

From: Angus Bearn 11 February 2016 14:34 PM

The SDLT proposals lack coherence from any perspective. If the consultation response is not heeded, and the scheme abandoned, the Government will have lost the few scraps of credibility it retains in terms of the housing market.

From: Angus Bearn 08 February 2016 20:11 PM

Excellent points, Colin. Well said.

From: Angus Bearn 14 January 2016 15:32 PM

Stock going to landlords doesn't matter a jot to house prices. What matters is supply and demand, and empty homes. Don't be fooled. Hate for landlords is no substitute for a decent housing strategy.

From: Angus Bearn 14 January 2016 15:31 PM

The Government proposals are a betrayal of Tory principles and an attack on the hundreds of thousands of decent landlords. Private landlords are great for Britain. They buy dilapidated property, pour £millions into refurbishment, and fill it with uncountable people who need a home. Why attack them? The craven pandering to the super-rich (exemptions for institutional investors) is disgusting. It is like the corrupt sale of the Royal Mail to George Osborn's mates. The rich get richer, the ordinary landlord gets stuffed. Thirdly, property investment is a pension. The more Cameron destroys our hopes of providing for our own old age, the more he inflates the state - something I thought the Tories were against. Fourthly - and obvious enough - landlords have nothing to do with the housing shortage. The supply weakness is the fault of successive governments, who couldn't organise a drinking session in a brewery. (I remember the Barker review...) The demand problem is, wait for it, down to successive governments' pitiful inability to control immigration and to 'rebalance' the economy away from London. It is nothing whatever to do with landlords. A hundred years ago, ninety percent of housing stock was private rented. To kick the private landlord is to take advantage of an unsympathetic target - what we call bullying. It stinks ethically, economically, and politically. Finally, far superior options are available. For unoccupied homes, Council Tax could double every six months. For homes used no more than three months of the year, Council Tax could double on a rolling basis. Those measures would make a real difference to the supply side, and put some money back where it counts, with local councillors. We also need to end the scams: help to buy and shared ownership. These are devices to enrich developers which inflate the housing market. Exactly the kind of short-termism that damages the economy. All in all, this is a very nasty piece of legislation from a very nasty government that has got everyone baffled.

From: Angus Bearn 05 January 2016 21:04 PM

Breaking News