The conveyancer’s view, 25th March 2022
March saw house prices reach another new record as the average price of property coming to market jumped by 1.7% (+£5,760) to £354,564, breaking through the £350,000 barrier for the first time.
This average monthly rise is the largest seen at this time of year since March 2004, pushing the annual rate of increase to 10.4%. All regions and countries except London and Scotland are up over 10% annually. The annual rate of 10.4% represents the highest rise recorded in any month since June 2014. Prices have also not finished soaring, with house prices set to increase by 5.5% in next three months.
This comes as The Economic (Crime and Transparency) Act 2022 was fast-tracked through Parliament, receiving royal assent on 15th March 2022. This forces foreign property owners to declare their true identity on a central register. Previously, the property’s owner has frequently been listed as a company. Wealthy Russians have beneficial ownership of these companies, but their name does not have to be officially associated with the property. It is said that Russians own around £1.1 billion worth of property in London.
This Act essentially leaves these Russians with “nowhere to hide” in the words of Boris Johnson, who described it as “tearing back the façade that those supporting Putin’s campaign of destruction have been hiding behind for so long”, adding that there is “no place for dirty money in the UK”.
