Participants in the housing market have been hit with a double blow today with calls from charity Shelter to double council tax rates on second homes,while figures from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors suggest sales are down to 1992 levels.
Two very different perspectives on the housing market come ahead of market preparation to implement rules outlined in the Housing Bill, including home information packs - which could become mandatory, rather than voluntary as some industy bodies would prefer - after a vote in the Commons last week. The cost of HIPs could further dampen a market already greatly softened by interest rate increases since November 2003, some market watchers speculate. Shelter says the council tax discounts offered to those owning second homes in rural councils – on the basis the owners do not use local se...
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