Our CEO Michelle Niziol gives her reaction to today’s Autumn Budget:
“Our nation is in the grips of a housing crisis with young people continuing to be priced out of the housing market and the level of housebuilding still lagging far behind where it needs to be.
“It is quite clear that this was a ‘housing Budget’, with a number of measures aimed at winning back the hearts of younger voters. Raising the threshold for which first time buyers pay Stamp Duty to £300,000 on homes priced up to £500,000, is encouraging news for young people.
“We expect to see more first-time buyers entering the market over the next few weeks because of this, which will help to stimulate the bottom end of the housing market. However, with little stimulation for second and third time home movers to move up the ladder, due to the jump in house prices between three and four bedroom homes, this could lead to a jam in the housing market.
“The Government appears to have finally woken up to the urgent need for more social and private housing. We welcome the Government’s agreed housing deal with Oxfordshire, as part of its wider strategic investment in the Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Oxford corridor, which will see the delivery of 100,000 homes by 2031, in return for Government support for infrastructure and affordable housing. It should have a positive impact on employment opportunities and on the growth of the local economy.
“Whilst the range of house building measures announced today will go some way to aiding the delivery of the Government’s target of an additional 300,000 homes each year, it is disappointing that the Chancellor did not take the opportunity to announce greater reforms to the country’s archaic planning system, which is a major barrier and constraint for many SME developers. It needs to be much simpler and more cost effective.”
You can view part of Michelle’s comment in a post-Budget article by Mortgage Finance Gazette magazine here
