THE LOCAL DOMESTIC PROPERTY MARKET

The only kind of inflation that is considered acceptable or even desirable, is house price inflation. After all it has made umpteen paper millionaires, especially those who have not arranged the ownership in a tax effective way.

Let us consider the implications for our own local residents. The average price for a starter house in Broadstone is now around £175,000. (Less if you buy a flat) A bit daunting for a first time buyer, even with mortgage rates as low as they are. Never mind, some will say, let them get their feet on the housing ladder on Canford Heath or in Creekmoor, where the prices are a little more manageable. They can graduate to Broadstone later. The effect this will have is to increase the average age of the Broadstone resident. Perhaps it has happened already, and is why there is relatively less crime in Broadstone, as we keep on being told. But let us speculate what would happen if the Chancellor was to introduce Capital Gains Tax on the profit margin between the buying and selling prices of owner occupied property. Would it be at the flat rate of 40%, as has been suggested, to be in line with Inheritance Tax? Would there be taper relief depending on the length of time the property had been owned? What effect would it have on prices overall?

During 2002 the availability of houses to buy was further reduced by investors buying to let. With returns from investments in banking or building society products at their lowest for many a year, potential investors were looking for properties costing around £100,000 that they could let for about £600 per month. Now with property prices having advanced still further it does not appear to be such an attractive proposition. The fact is that Broadstone is now so built up that it seems unlikely that a substantial number of new houses could be created. There is always the possibility that "affordable" housing will be built on the Rec, or that the Golf Club might sell off a couple of holes, if planning permission could be obtained. The more likely scenario is that the big old houses will be replaced with big new houses, or that houses within a substantial plot will be redeveloped with the highest permitted density. Will we see Broadstone Heights or Broadstone Tower as developers succeed in building upwards? Who knows?

Poole Borough Council is to issue a new definitive map of Public Open Space. Perhaps this will give an indication of the remaining land banks held by developers on the Outskirts of Broadstone.

Pine Springs

Carved out of a portion of Oakdale and Lincoln Township, the City of Pine Springs is a quiet, peaceful city with a population of about 450. City ordinances call for at least two and a half acres per home, giving the city a country air. I wish! From the White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Residents Guide.

Archive Winter 2003 | next

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