New analysis from national estate agent, Jackson-Stops & Staff, has predicted that stamp duty reforms will fail to have the intended effect of deterring prospective buy-to-let investors due to house price inflation. Industry bodies have reported a rush of buy-to-let registrations in the run up to April, and there are signs that the upcoming reform to stamp duty tax will not have the effect intended by the Chancellor. According to the Jackson-Stops & Staff analysis one key reason is that the majority of investors will see that property price inflation, within a year or less, will more than compensate them for their entire stamp duty bill – even with the 3% surcharge. Jackson-Stops & Staff predicts that the biggest losers of the stamp duty reform will actually be tenants as landlords pass on their additional costs to rental prices. For example if property prices continue to grow at their current rate in the South East region, the capital gain on an average priced property will be £28,412 annually. Total stamp duty on the purchase of an averagely priced home will be £11,328 under the new proposed stamp duty regime for second homeowners, a figure which is eclipsed by the annual increase in equity. See Table 1 below for further detail on all UK regions. According to data from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) the vast majority of landlords keep their investment property for more than one year. The ARLA research shows that most landlords (33%) keep their buy-to-let property for 11-20 years and for an average of 20.3 years. This means most landlords benefit from the positive impact of house price growth in the longer term – usually reaping the benefits for more than a year. Financial impact of 3% stamp duty surcharge in light of projected property price growth Jan 2015 price[2] Jan 2016 price % change Capital gain in one year[3] Extra stamp duty for buy-to-let[4] Total stamp duty for buy-to-let[5] Expected capital gain minus total stamp duty on buy-to-let purchase Wales £117,692 £125,665 6.8% £8,513 £3,770 £3,783 £4,730 London £465,592 £530,409 13.9% £73,840 £15,912 £32,433 £41,407 South East £240,927 £266,603 10.7% £28,412 £7,998 £11,328 £17,084 West Midlands £135,305 £144,185 6.6% £9,463 £4,326 £4,709 £4,754 South West £186,715 £198,288 6.2% £12,290 £5,949 £7,414 £4,876 East Midlands £133,035 £138,825 4.4% £6,042 £4,165 £4,441 £1,601 East £199,540 £217,341 8.9% £19,389 £6,520 £8,367 £11,022 Yorkshire & The Humber £120,541 £124,949 3.7% £4,569 £3,748 £3,748 £821 North West £112,132 £114,504 2.1% £2,422 £3,435 £3,435 -£1,013 North East £96,907 £97,117 0.2% £210 £2,914 £2,914 -£2,704 Nick Leeming, Chairman at Jackson-Stops & Staff, commented: “The government, through its new stamp duty surcharge, is trying to make the playing field more even between property investors and first-time buyers by eating into landlords’ profits. Our message to landlords is that when you do the sums, and look at the direction of house prices, placing money in bricks and mortar is still by far the best investment vehicle. If property prices continue on their current trajectory, within a year or less of buying their investment property the vast majority of landlords would have earned back all the money given through stamp duty, even with the new 3% surcharge, by doing nothing at all – just sitting back and watching the price of their home increase. Therefore the idea that the stamp duty tax will act as a deterrent is a fiction, as for most landlords it won’t amount to a significant figure. The Bank of England has clearly noted that the 3% stamp duty surcharge is unlikely to ease buy-to-let demand from investors and has now announced its own intervention to cool the market. From a landlord’s perspective it appears as though UK institutions are out to get them. Around half of all privately rented homes are owned by landlords with buy-to-let mortgages, providing homes for people who choose to rent as a lifestyle choice or are trying to get onto the housing ownership ladder. Rather than this continued assault against landlords, we suggest that the better policy is to address the shortage of stock in the UK, targeted to both homes for owner occupiers and tenants, through a long-term plan for the UK property market which looks beyond the next parliamentary period. The unintended long term consequence of numerous policies seeking to deter buy-to-let landlords is that this investment option becomes unattractive, as uncertainty dogs the market, leaving this country of

Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Tue, Mar 1st 2016 Total Glass has launched its new ‘Designer Doors’ range of GRP composite doors featuring ten fresh contemporary styles, plus a wide range of both standard and specialist colours that further increase the appeal of what the Liverpool-based fabricator can offer on composite doors. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Total Glass has launched its new ‘Designer Doors’ range of GRP composite doors featuring ten fresh contemporary styles, plus a wide range of both standard and specialist colours that further increase the appeal of what the Liverpool-based fabricator can offer on composite doors. Significant investment has also been made in more machinery and equipment to increase production capacity at the company’s dedicated in-house composite door manufacturing facility. Introduced in response to consistent customer feedback, the new range complements the existing Total Glass ‘Castle Collection’ of GRP composite doors. This greatly expanded selection has been warmly welcomed by customers, according to Phill Cresswell, Sales and Marketing Manager. “It’s fair to say that our customers were ‘chomping at the bit’ to get their hands on these new doors,” he says. “We have added 13 different glazing panel designs, covering everything from the traditional to the contemporary, while some designs come in a choice of colours designed to complement the door colours and create a stylish matching finish. “The flexibility that in-house manufacturing affords us means that we can offer a huge choice so there is a door to suit all tastes and budgets. Stocking and routing our own slabs means we can offer a really fast service so customers are not kept waiting and doors are delivered when they need them.” Hardware for the ‘Designer Doors’ reflects their modern look and feel with long pull-bar handles and a choice of ‘escutcheon-style’ modern locking systems. An attractive Antique black ‘hammered-effect’ range ideal for traditional cottage door styles is offered, along with handles in a stainless steel finish suitable for modern properties. New retail brochures accompany the range and, as with the Castle Collection, there’s a similar simple competitive pricing structure, so the salesperson can readily complete the sale on the day. Investment includes a Schelling Beam Saw for precision-cutting of the door slabs and manual handling and lifting equipment for more efficient movement of the slabs between the prepping procedures. Both are increasing efficiency and improving Total’s composite door turnaround times for the benefit of customers. Prior to despatch, the doors are given complete protection against possible damage using the Door Wrapper. Fully encased in clear film, the doors arrive with customers in pristine condition and ready to install. Phill adds: “Composite doors are a very popular home improvement product. With the addition of our ‘Designer Doors’ range, we can offer even more choice that helps our customers meet the demands of this ever-growing market.” Source link

The Solar Trade Association (STA) has elected Jonathan Selwyn as its new chair and Seb Berry as vice-chair. Selwyn, who is director of Solar Consulting Ltd and former managing director of Lark Energy, said: “At a time of great change for the UK solar industry, it has never been more important for the STA to stand up and promote our sector. “I hope to put my experience to good use in helping steer the STA through the many challenges ahead and I am very grateful to the members for electing me to this position.” His position comes after current chair Jan Sission, who has been at the helm of the organisation for two and a half years, has decided to step down. Berry has been serving on the STA’s board of directors for three years and is currently head of public affairs at Solar Century. He said: “The STA can rightly be proud of the Feed-in Tariff campaign it fought last year and for the highly professional resource it continues to devote to crucial public policy and lobbying work.  “Many important policy challenges remain and the STA, as the leading lobbying voice of the industry in the UK, has a really vital job to do in the coming months and years.” Giles Clark of Primrose Solar, Gareth Williams of Caplor Energy and Paul Hutchens of Eco2Solar have also recently joined as directors of the STA. Source link

Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Fri, Mar 18th 2016 Recticel Insulation’s Eurowall + is now an LABC Registered Detail. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Eurowall +, the full fill cavity wall product from PIR manufacturer Recticel Insulation, has been certified as a Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Registered Detail. Registered Detail status ensures that products and systems are accepted by building control departments across England, Scotland and Wales, increasing confidence for inspectors on site when approving the use of new or innovative construction techniques. Approval involves looking at product performance data and other third-party approvals such as BBA certificates, in order to prove compliance with building regulations and standards, and to ease the process of making submissions to building control for customers wanting to specify and use the product. The assessment started at a local level, with initial checking carried out by senior building control officers at Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Approval was then signed off at a national level, ready for the Detail to be accepted by local authorities across the UK. Recticel development manager Peter Wilcox said: “Eurowall + joins LABC’s library of rigorously checked systems and products, ready for use by architects, specifiers and contractors. We look forward to working with LABC again on other new and exciting product innovations.” Eurowall + is an LABC Registered Detail under certificate number EWW620. It is a full fill cavity wall insulation that changes the way a wall works, without changing the way contractors work. A nominal 10mm cavity behind the outer leaf leaves space for bricklayers to position bricks as normal, while the thermal performance of the wall is increased without widening the structure. ENDS   Source link