House prices in 2015 will be boosted by the stamp duty reforms that came into effect on 4 December, a new report has claimed.
Hamptons International’s annual housing forecast predicted that house prices in England and Wales will rise 4% in 2015 and 4.5% in 2016, down from an expected 8% rise in 2014.
Fionnuala Earley, research director at Hamptons International, said: “The Stamp Duty reforms will have two effects. First to give buyers more to spend, and second to make it slightly easier for them to pass affordability tests.”
However, not all areas will experience the same level of growth. Regions in the east will see the greatest increase in house prices, but growth in London will be more subdued.
Prices in Greater London are set to increase by only 1.5%, in central London by 2% and in prime central London by 0.5%.
Earley added: “Smaller prices outside London in the last year mean that affordability conditions are not as stretched and, as the economy picks up, there is still potential for house prices to rise further and faster than the capital.”
