Real Estate Bubble Update: London’s Empty Luxury Homes Draw Election Penalty Vow

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

The phenomenon known as buy-to-leave, with some investors not even bothering to pick up keys to properties, is now becoming an issue in the May 7 national election as more than 460,000 U.K. homes lie vacant. Tessa Jowell, a former Labour lawmaker and bookmaker’s favorite to replace Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson when he steps down in 2016, is making penalties for leaving homes empty a principal part of her campaign.

Johnson urged London councils to “whack up” tax on owners who allow their homes to stand empty for more than a year during an LBC Radio interview last year.

“Wealthy foreign investors are buying up London homes to leave empty as assets to appreciate rather than homes in which to live, whilst hundreds of thousands of Londoners are stranded in temporary housing, or stuck on housing waiting lists,” said Jowell, who represented a district in the capital for 23 years. “We urgently need to give councils tough powers to penalize those who leave homes empty.”

Charlotte Palmer, a spokeswoman for Heron, said all but one apartment owner have picked up the keys to their apartments.

Central bank money creation will find a place to speculate.