Chancellor set to pledge cash for new homes
The Chancellor is set to unveil the government’s spending plans up to 2020 later, which is likely to include billions of pounds worth of cuts. However, there is likely to be good news for housebuilding projects.
Mr Osborne is due to pledge nearly £7bn in order to make housebuilding a priority, with in excess of 400,000 affordable homes to be built in England.
Announcement
This afternoon’s combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review is sure to be of interest to all connected with the property market.
Osborne has promised to address what he calls, ‘a crisis of home ownership in our country,’ giving support to a, ‘bold plan to back families who aspire to buy their own home.’[1]
The Treasury has described the proposals as, ‘the biggest affordable housebuilding programme since the 1970’s.
This is set to include:
- £2.3bn paid straight to developers to build starter homes, aimed at first-time buyers. These purchasers will get a 20% discount on prices up to £450,000 in London and £250,000 elsewhere in England
- £4bn to assist in building 135,000 ‘Help to Buy: Shared Ownership homes for households earning up to £80,000, or £90,000 in London
- £200m for 10,000 new properties that tenants can live in for up to five years while they save for a deposit. After this period, they will get first-right to buy the home
- £400m to fund 8,000 specialist homes for elderly people or those with disabilities
Chancellor set to pledge cash for new homes
Encouraging
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, noted that attempts to improve supply in the market were beginning to come to fruition. He said that recent housebuilding statistics were, ‘very encouraging.’
Unsurprisingly, Labour do not agree, brandishing the Conservatives’ record as a,’ failure on every front, pointing to the fact that home ownership is at its lowest level for a generation.
‘If hot air built homes, then Conservative ministers would have our housing crisis sorted, ‘quipped shadow housing minister John Healey. ‘A matter of weeks ago, the housing minister promised a million more homes, now George Osborne is saying they’ll build 400,000 more. Rather than rate them on what they say they will do, people will judge them on what they’ve actually done,’ he continued.[1]
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34915218