£1.4bn investment into 40,000 affordable homes promised

AS broadly predicted, Chancellor Philip Hammond moved to act on the housing shortage with his Autumn Statement pledge to invest £1.4bn into a building programme for 40,000 affordable homes.

He also unveiled a £2.3bn in infrastructure support for 100,000 homes in “areas of high demand”.

Hammond also promised to broaden the scale of the Government’s Right to Buy scheme and to continue support the Help to Buy scheme and the Help to Buy ISA.

“This will more than double the annual capital spending on housing,” he said. “And it represents a step change in helping to deliver a housing market that works for everyone.”

There was a further boost for hard-hard pressed families when Hammond confirmed the wide pre-Statement leaks that letting agents would be banned from charging tenants up front fees.

Up fees paid by tenants often amount to several hundred pounds but Hammond said: “It is wrong that tenants should be charged these fees.”

His moves were welcomed by the property in the North West.

John Keyes, international partner and head of Cushman & Wakefield’s Manchester office said: “The property sector in the region has continued to deliver over recent years and has remained remarkably resilient since the EU referendum.

“The most important challenge for the Chancellor was to maintain the confidence of investors, including property investors – especially given on-going economic uncertainties into 2017.

“The commitment to support affordable housing, transport infrastructure and innovation is to be welcomed – although we now need to understand how the cake will be carved up to benefit Greater Manchester and the North West.”

Founder and chief executive of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, said: “The main is yet another cash injection for the beleaguered UK property market, with Mr Hammond pledging £2.3bn for infrastructure to support 100,000 new homes and £1.4bn to build 40,000 more affordable houses in the places they are most needed, plus a further boost to Right to Buy.
 
“Talk is cheap even if the numbers being bandied about today are not. And it remains to be seen how the announcement and the money will actually lead to more houses being built in practice.

“Mr Hammond must forgive the nation for welcoming this announcement with a degree of scepticism, as like many a Chancellor before him, these words often equate to little more than regurgitated rhetoric and a shortfall of 100,000 new homes a year.”