Carrington on Q2: It does seem that the tax rate in the popular Laffer Curve has now been breached
Successive parliaments have fiddled with stamp duty 14 times since 1995, but the right balance is yet to be struck, writes LonRes Chairman William Carrington

William Carrington co-founded LonRes.com in 2000. A subscription-only service providing real-time data for estate agents, relocation agents, valuers and surveyors operating in the London area, Lonres.com owns the largest archive of sales and lettings transactions in central London and further provides tailored data and research analytics to its customers. William is a director of CLEA Ltd, which publishes the London Magazine, and is a consultant to Boston Radford Chartered Surveyors. He has nearly 30 years’ experience in the central London residential market and is known to all of London’s best agents. He commutes to and from Northumberland every week.
Carrington on Q1: Sliding stamp duty receipts and a Brexit fiasco
SDLT was brought in to cool the market, but this one size-fits-all approach has neither worked for the London market nor the Treasury, says LonRes Chairman William Carrington
Carrington on Q2: Brexit, Purplebricks & PCL
With the arrival of Kit Malthouse as the seventeenth incumbent Minister of State for Housing since 1997, one could say that this time, at last, we have someone with real experience of local government…
Carrington on Q3: Groundhog Days
LonRes chairman William Carrington offers his take on the issues of the day - or was that yesterday?
Companies in this article
LonResMost read
Big-brand super-prime brokerage names new MD; reveals bumper H1 results
United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty says it racked up nearly £600mn in sales during the first half of 2025.
Interiors lead appointed at super-prime Pimlico scheme
'Landmark' One Bessborough Gardens project is transforming a former Government spy agency HQ overlooking the Thames.
From Manhattan to Mayfair via Miami: Where the world’s $30m+ set call home
New research charts the cities with the largest UHNW residential footprints, revealing shifting second-home trends and emerging luxury hotspots.
London property market more split than it has been since Brexit – Knight Frank
Agency flags significant divergence in prices and deal volumes between PCL and POL amid ‘summer of speculation.'
Rosewood elevates luxury resi ambitions with senior hire
'Residential business is our strategic development focus,' says CEO of global hospitality group, as top-end specialist joins to drive next growth chapter.
Treasury eyes Autumn IHT & CGT hikes
Reports suggest the government 'is trying to work out how it can tap into the vast wave of wealth that will be transferred from baby boomers when they die.'
By PrimeResi
The Times: How a British estate agent conquered New York
Katrina Burroughs meets 'the rising star of the Big Apple’s real estate scene' ahead of the new season of hit Netflix show Owning Manhattan, in this piece for The Times.
Mayfair specialist joins Harding Green in Hertfordshire
Kitty Halley previously worked at Wetherell and Savills.
By PrimeResi
Irish developer Ronan ‘exploring a return to London’ following landmark Dublin deal
Johnny Ronan's Ronan Group - which once had grand plans for Battersea Power Station - is 'actively pursuing opportunities as it charts a course back into the UK market'.
By PrimeResi
In Pictures: ‘Gallery-worthy’ Chelsea Arts & Crafts house seeks £12.5mn
On the market for £12.5mn, the home on Chelsea Park Gardens 'has the potential to fetch £25,000 per week on a short let,' says Dexters.
By PrimeResi
LATEST ARTICLES
Major prime agency installs new lettings boss
Daniel Fisher will lead the 153-year-old firm's lettings business into its 'next chapter'.
In Pictures: Inside Echlin’s country house debut in the Cotswolds
Boutique design firm shows off its first interiors project outside of London - delivering 'subtle luxury' for a Singaporean family in Oxfordshire.
By PrimeResi
‘Fierce competition’ in SW London sees renters bid above asking
'75% of family houses were let at the asking price or above on the first viewing' in July, reports Savills.
By PrimeResi
Weekly Showcase: Ten featured prime resi listings
PrimeResi's regular stock check, powered by LonRes.
Four Seasons to launch standalone resi project in Abu Dhabi
Collaboration with asset manager Alain on Saadiyat Island is promising to 'redefine luxury living in the UAE.'