Property industry calls for action from new administration
With the election results in and the Labour Party’s victory now certain, property industry stakeholders are urging swift action and delivery on promises made, especially those concerning housing.
“The new government made clear in its campaign that housing is a priority, and it must now deliver on those promises,” said Sam Mitchell (pictured far left), chief executive of estate agent Purplebricks. “Lack of stock is the root cause of so much of the housing crisis, and we must see progress towards the pledge to build 1.5 million new homes in the early weeks of the new Parliament.”
Mitchell added that a focus on building affordable and social housing is a crucial step towards a healthy first-time buyers’ market, as is the government’s promise to make the mortgage guarantee scheme permanent for first-time buyers.
“Above all, the market craves a consistent policy towards housing over a sustained period,” he pointed out. “With 16 housing ministers since 2010, the industry is desperate for some certainty and clear strategic direction from the government.”
Sam Lindsay (pictured second from left), mortgage planning advisor at My Mortgage Angel, echoed Mitchell’s sentiments, stating that “the housing market desperately needs some impetus.”
“The new government needs to make some changes to get the market picking up pace again, and it needs to make those changes sooner rather than later,” she said.
“Changes to stamp duty would be welcomed, greater initiatives for both buyers and sellers alike and bringing a helping hand back to first-time buyers would be a great place to start.”
Ryan Etchells (pictured second from right), chief commercial officer at property lender Together, also emphasised the urgent need to boost the UK’s housing stock.
“Top of the agenda should be looking at boosting the UK’s housing stock, which has not kept pace with our increasing population to such a level in recent years that we are now in a deepening housing crisis,” Etchells said.
“Before the election, Labour vowed to build 1.5 million homes over the next parliament – effectively reinstating the previous government’s 300,000-a-year targets. But to achieve such ambitious numbers we need to see real change.”
Etchells, however, stressed that achieving these goals would require significant changes and a radical overhaul of the broken planning system to speed up town hall decision-making by removing red tape and unlocking opportunities for developers.
He said that there should be real incentives for SME housebuilders to create quality, modern and affordable homes, adding that building on brownfield land needs to be a major focus, alongside redeveloping some of the 1.55 million properties in England and Wales that sit abandoned and derelict.
“The new government needs to take bold measures to stimulate regeneration of empty and disused property, such as introducing tax breaks,” Etchells pointed out. “Overall, we need to see much greater collaboration between local authorities and developers to form a faster response to the ever-increasing demand.”
Robin Rathore (pictured far right), chief executive of online property marketplace Bamboo Auctions, said the first 100 days of government will be crucial in setting out how serious Labour is about change and progress in the sector.
“We know that Labour wants to build 1.5 million new homes, we know they are committed to removing no fault evictions, and we know that Labour will let the 0% SDLT threshold for first-time buyers fall back to £300,000 from £425,000,” he stated.
“Whether you agree with these policies or not, at least the property sector now has clarity of vision and certainty of direction for the country for at least the next five years. This will create more stability, more confidence and ultimately more liquidity in the property market.”
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