The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his autumn statement on Wednesday afternoon and announced the government’s commitment to deliver new homes.
The Chancellor last year gave the property market “turmoil,” but this year Hunt has saved people from “wiping away the tears.”
However, on inheritance tax hoped have now been dashed and it is not clear if the government are choosing to “pander to the masses” in order to “boost popularity” ahead of the “next general election.”
Co-founder and CEO of Searchland, Mitchell Fasanya, said, “Great to see the government’s commitment to delivering much needed new homes by way of nutrient mitigation schemes, freeing the planning backlog, and local authority fund investment.
“This certainly goes against the previous head in the sand approach that’s been adopted when it comes to actually addressing the housing crisis by improving supply rather than fueling demand.
“Of course, we’ve heard many promises of a similar vein before and so we can be forgiven for welcoming today’s news with a degree of scepticism.”
CEO of Yopa, Verona Frankish, said, “Last Christmas, the government gave us property market turmoil as a consequence of the mini budget. This year, they’ve saved us from further tears, but they haven’t given us much else to shout about.”
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, said, “Another underwhelming Autumn Statement where the housing market is concerned. Much like unwrapping a pair of socks on Christmas Day, it lacked imagination and left us feeling largely disappointed.
“It’s clear they have run out of ideas when it comes to addressing the current issues plaguing the property market. Hardly surprising when we have housing ministers coming and going more frequently than the postman.”
CEO of Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, added, “Today’s budget was a missed opportunity to help kick start a property market that has been looking a tad lethargic of late.
“Higher mortgage rates and wider market uncertainty have caused the market to cool as a result of a drop in buyer activity and we were hoping that the government would offer up an incentive to entice them back into the fold.”
Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, said, “We’ve grown accustomed to the government announcing housing market incentives designed to fuel demand and so an absence of any such initiative today will come as a shock. Instead, they’ve uncharacteristically decided to address the burning issue of supply.
“While this will do little to ignite the property market in the short term, it will be beneficial in the long run, provided they actually deliver on their promises.”
Inheritance Tax
Managing Director of Final Duties, Jack Gill, said, “Hopes of a inheritance tax cut have been dashed today, with the government instead choosing to pander to the masses in order to boost popularity ahead of the next general election.
“This is disappointing given that inheritance tax is no longer a tax on the wealthy and more and more of us face falling foul of it as our estates grow in value and become liable.
“This is largely due to the over stimulation of the property market in recent years which has pushed house prices to record highs. With property forming the majority of the average person’s estate, the increase in the value of their property is pushing them into inheritance tax territory.
“Given that the government is largely to blame for such an out of kilter housing market, you’d have thought they would make amends by reducing their inheritance tax grab – a grab that has seen the total sum of receipts paid increase by 17% in the last year alone.”
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