Peer-to-peer lenders and property experts have welcomed new government plans to increase housebuilding activity, make more brownfield sites eligible for property development, and fund new eco homes.
However, there were concerns that the government’s plans may not go far enough.
During his Autumn budget speech, Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to build up to 180,000 affordable homes and fund the decarbonising of homes.
He announced that the government would build on its existing commitments by confirming a nearly £24bn multi-year settlement for housing. This includes an investment of £11.5bn in the Affordable Homes Programme, with 65 per cent of that funding earmarked for delivery outside London.
In an effort to meet the government’s net zero goals, Sunak said that he was making £5bn available to remove unsafe cladding from high risk buildings, using money raised from the new residential property developer tax.
£3.9bn will also be set aside for England and Wales to ensure buildings are warmer and cheaper to heat.
“We welcome the chancellor’s package of housing-related investment announced in today’s budget, particularly the provision of affordable housing and improved use of brownfield sites,” said Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz Capital.
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“However, given the focus on green grants and the need for housing to become more sustainable in future, the government must do more to support homeowners during this transition over the coming months and years.”
John Goodall, chief executive of property lender Landbay, described the budget as a “spending spree”.
“The £11.5bn investment in 180,000 new affordable homes will be helpful – if they actually get built,” he said.
“The government is woefully short in its target to build 300,000 new homes a year so we need to see the detail of exactly how that is to be achieved.”
Iain McKenzie, chief executive of The Guild of Property Professionals said that the budget was “notably lacking in any further provisions to the property market” and warned that the chancellor may have had “one eye on the sales boom ignited by the stamp duty holiday”.
“The pledged investment for building new homes shows that they are acknowledging the shortage of stock available to buy,” added McKenzie.
“Unlocking unused urban land for house-building will allow people to move to areas well-connected to transport networks. This will be particularly useful to first-time-buyers, so long as the properties are kept affordable.”
Toni Smith, chief operating officer at PRIMIS Mortgage Network, said: “The additional investment of £1.8bn to increase housing supply, by unlocking one million new homes between 2022-23 to 2024-25, is a great step forward, especially given it comes in addition to the reconfirmed £11.5bn in the Affordable Homes Programme.
“The serious issues of undersupply have been highlighted by rising house prices as purchase demand surged over the past 18 months, and it’s promising to see serious investment in this area to tackle the problem and provide options for affordable housing.”
Ahead of today’s budget announcement, housebuilders and property lenders had called on the government to make it easier to build new homes by relaxing planning laws. P2P lenders such as Assetz Capital have also urged the government to fund more eco-homes to help the country reach its net zero goals.
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