London's richest people went on a property buying frenzy just before April
The group, which published a trading update for the quarter ending March 31, said that total group revenue for the quarter was at £38.4 million, up 16.2% compared with the first quarter last year.
"A significant increase in transactions completing before the introduction in April of the 3% stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let investments and second homes," helped boost the numbers, according to Foxtons.
Stamp duty is a tax placed on buyers when they purchase a property in the UK. It is payable on completion of the property.
So this works out to an extra £93,750 if you're buying a property at £1.5 million, according to the government's stamp duty tax calculator. However, if you're buying a property for £5 million, you'll be forking out £513,750 just in stamp duty fees.
Secondly, if you own more than one property, a 3% stamp duty is applied. The new fee came into force in April and is applicable to buy-to-let investors and those who are buying a second home. This 3% fee is on top of the extra cost of a new purchase in April.
So people rushed out to buy before being slapped with the extra 3% tax. The average house price in London is over £500,000, according to the ONS, so those buying are likely to be relatively wealthy.
In a trading update on Tuesday, the group, which owns brands like Bairstow Eves and Hamptons International, says it has had a bumper start to the year as buyers rushed to snap up buy-to-let properties and second homes ahead of the new 3% stamp duty surcharge that came into effect on 1 April. House exchanges in the first quarter were up 30% on last year.
But Countrywide warned: "We expect the housing market to slow in the second quarter post the surge in buy-to-let activity in the first quarter and reflecting challenges from the political and economic uncertainty in the lead up to the EU referendum in June."