2015 did not live up to everyone’s predictions of heady increases of property prices following the general election. Nevertheless prices maintained an increase overall and it was a pretty good year for us all.

Top price properties are still affected by the big stamp duty increase last year but properties under £3m are selling well.

Looking forward to 2016, despite Osbornes’s swipe at buy to let investors and second home buyers there are still great opportunities for buyers and investors in W2.

On the gloomy side the chancellor added a 3% surcharge stamp duty on buy to lets and second homes with effect from the 1 April 2016. If you are ready to buy or sell then yes get started now and complete before 1 April.

On the positive side mortgages are still freely available standing at around £16 billion a month, there are no signs of significant interest rate rises, oil prices are falling, the economy is growing steadily and there is higher employment. Government measures confer some positives – Help to Buy is extended from next April to anyone earning below £90,000 in London and people can use the scheme more than once. Inheritance tax relief coming in effectively raises the tax free band to £1m for couples with a family home. Cuts to housing benefits and social rents reduce funds for local authorities with growth being redirected to the private sector. Planning reforms encourage development and give more power at local level. Opportunities exist for converting old commercial premises and offices into flats.

Economists predict property price increases across the board over the next five years at over 5% a year and the prediction for W2 is for even higher rises. It is simply a question of demand and supply. Housing supply shortages are predicted to last for at least the next decade. Generation rent is here to stay.

We at Cavendish Rowe are the right agents in the right location. Remember to contact us

• if you see development potential in your property – how about that basement or loft space?
• To build up your property portfolio
• If you want to move house or rent