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The biggest estate agent of all is the Government
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Philofacts:
There are lots of similarities between estate agents and the Government.
They are universally hated and despised.
Both are slick and insincere and both are well know for bending the truth.
Now the government has joined the "largely parasitic class living off a percentage of property sales and with a big stake to keep the market artificially high" writes Matthew Lynn in MoneyWeek.
He says government finances are becoming increasingly dependent on revenue raised through stamp duty.
What was once a minor tax has now become a major source of revenue due to higher rates and increasing numbers of sales being pushed into the higher rate thresholds.
In the good old days of 1993, there was just one a single 1% stamp duty rate, charged only on homes that sold for more than £60,000, which at the time was higher the average house price. Most buyers didn't pay it and if they did it was a minor irritation. Now the 3% rate for all properties sold £250,000 catches 20% of all homes sold and by 2017, it is estimated that 80% of all home buyers will pay over £7,500 when the move, giving the treasury an extra £6bn a year!
Stamp duty is currently raising £4bn a year for the treasury and it is estimated to rise to £14bn within the next 10 years.
So the government has a vested interest in the health of the housing market, quite apart from helping people feel "better-off" in the run up to a general election!
The government can control both supply, via planning laws and land availability, which will set prices for the whole market in the medium term. It also influences demand, by setting interest rates and controlling mortgage availability through schemes such as 'Help to Buy'.
Virtually everything that happens to the housing market has been influenced by the government.
No wonder the government likes rising house prices!
DavidBrown:
The government wants what they have, instead they tax the people so they can waste more money.
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