“HOUSING IS WAY TOO FAR DOWN THE LIST OF GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES”

ONE WEEK ON, MAJOR ASSOCIATION BLASTS THE “UNDERWHELMING” BUDGET 

THE Budget has left the property market “underwhelmed” and won’t encourage developers to start building the homes to solve Britain’s house supply crisis.

That’s the view of the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) who say tackling housing is “too far down the list” of the Government priorities.
Reflecting on last week’s Budget, Jonathan Rolande, from the NAPB, said: “A week or so on from the Budget, the industry, buyers and sellers have had time to reflect on the changes. Most feel underwhelmed.

“There were just a few crumbs for the property market. A reduction in the rate of Capital Gains Tax for second home owners who are in the higher tax band – it falls from 28% to 24%. It is hoped that this will encourage owners of holiday homes to sell. Furnished Holiday Let tax has been brought in line with standard longer term rentals to encourage AirBnB’s return to the longer term market.

The little-used multiple dwelling relief has been abolished for those buying multiple properties.”

Analysing the options which were open to Jeremy Hunt, Mr Rolande continued: “It would have been wrong to re-ignite buyer demand with guaranteed mortgages or further SDLT cuts for all.

But targeted increases in tax where appropriate and reductions elsewhere would have stimulated the right areas of the market. We are at risk of demand bumping along at a low level. This will not entice developers to build existing sites, yet alone go looking for new ones.

The Budget has come and gone and the market has settled down to ‘business as usual’. There was nothing in it to help or hinder.

“Either housing is low down the list of priorities for the Chancellor, or the problem is just too huge to be tackled. I suspect it is the latter.

“To even begin to solve the crisis in housing a Chancellor will need to be so bold it may end their career. They will need to focus on planning reform, substantial tax reductions and increases in the right area.

“No government will see the fruit of such bold moves for years, perhaps decades. And that is considerably longer than a parliamentary term. That may explain why successive Chancellors and Housing Ministers have done little more than tinker with what remains one of our most pressing national issues.”