The CML continues to believe that the failure to index Stamp
Duty thresholds is a form of stealth tax.
Like the Chancellor, the CML looks forward to further discussion of the recently published housing market reports, with a view to trying to find a broader consensus. Indeed, this echoes a call for greater consensus that the CML set out in its own Mortgage Market Manifesto report last week.
Responding to the Barker report and recommendations on housing supply, also published today, CML Deputy Director General Peter Williams said:
"The recommendations will take time to digest. At first sight, it is
disappointing that the report seems ambivalent about the role of
home-ownership within the overall UK housing market. But the themes of making the housing market more flexible, and the reference to the blurring of the boundaries between the market and social sectors, do chime with the CML's desire to see a much more flexible tenure structure to meet the needs of people who cannot afford full home-ownership.
"Of course, the primary problem - delivering a far higher supply of
housing - is highly political, and it will take some time to implement change in practice. In the meantime, as the report highlights, there is a large swathe of people who cannot afford to become home-owners. Some targeted help for this group need not be expensive in terms of public expenditure and would provide at least a stop-gap policy response until the increased supply of housing begins to flow through."
