The Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister today announced up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes will be built with a £2 billion injection of investment to deliver the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.
Thousands of new affordable homes will start construction by March 2027 and will complete by the end of this Parliament. The government is encouraging providers to come forwards as soon as possible with projects and bids to ramp up the delivery of new housing supply, in turn making the dream of home ownership a reality for more people across the country.
The government says today’s announcement will also unlock development and opportunity on sites that are ready and waiting for spades in the ground in places such as Manchester or Liverpool.
Newspage asked property experts for their views, below.
Emma Jones, Managing Director at Whenthebanksaysno.co.uk said, “While 18,000 new social and affordable homes is a positive, we’re still a world away from the Government’s 1.5m goal. The key is for spades to hit the ground at scale and with increasing momentum.
“Affordability, as shown in data published this week, is a constant challenge for aspiring buyers. The average house costs far too much for the average salary and there is no sign of that changing soon.”
Andrew Montlake, Managing Director at Coreco added, “Building more social and affordable housing is absolutely essential for this country so any news is good news on that front, although it does highlight the extent of the challenge ahead given the 1.5m target. It’s crucial that spades in ground translate into keys in hand as fast as possible as the lack of housing stock is one of this country’s biggest challenges.”
Stephen Perkins, Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages said, “This week we were told that the average house price is 7.7 times the average full time income, so it remains a real struggle for people to get on the housing ladder or move up it.
“So few homes are sold by housing associations at under 5 times average income that are deemed affordable, and in reality these are still out of reach of many would-be buyers.
“Meanwhile, more 4-bed executive homes are being built across the country rather than the truly affordable homes the country needs to resolve this affordability conundrum. This announcement is welcome but the road ahead is a long one.”
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