£500m to drive housebuilding

THE Chancellor announced £500m of finance to small housebuilding firms and an extension of the Help to Buy scheme for the rest of the decade in a bid to create 120,000 new homes.

Jonathan Pochin, managing director of Northwich-based Pochin Construction, said: “The Budget was an encouraging step in the right direction for UK house building, with the announcement of further actions to address the national housing shortage.

“However, following promises to boost youth employment and get Britain building, it could be that the Chancellor has missed some opportunities to maximise the full potential of the wider construction industry.

“The regeneration of inner city housing and the motion to develop 200,000 new homes will stimulate growth in the sector, but public sector building and development of new infrastructure remained a minor issue in the wider statement.”

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, said: “Yet again, the Chancellor has failed to overhaul the stamp duty system, with wages well below inflation and rents rising rapidly for years, many have been struggling to save for a deposit, let alone meet a huge tax bill. Helping more buyers to enter at the lower end of the market would have resulted in more movement and transactions, freeing up stagnant property chains and bringing badly-needed housing onto the market.

“The much trailed extension of Help to Buy to 2020 is not a game changer. While it provides certainty and clarity to the market, creating another 120,000 new build properties is still a modest target. We need over 230,000 just to meet current demand. Much more needs to be done.”