The housing market is experiencing a challenging moment. A struggling economic climate has resulted in increased mortgage rates, demand outstripping supply month-on-month in the rental market, and a lack of commitment and opportunity in the land market leading to a backlog in the supply of new housing.
All eyes, then, were fixed firmly on No.10 and the Chancellor’s red despatch box as Jeremy Hunt delivered the Government’s Autumn Statement on 22nd November.
But what was actually said, and what does this all mean for the future of the housing market for homeowners, home-seekers, and homebuilders across the country?
Key measures announced for the housing market:
- £32m pledged to ‘bust the planning backlog’ with new homes
- £450m to the local authority housing fund to deliver 2,400 new homes
- £110m to unlock 40,000 new homes via high-quality nutrient mitigation schemes
- £50m over two years to pilot schemes to enable the increase of apprentices in ‘engineering and other key growth sectors’
However, despite the 110 policies announced during the statement, some of the most important measures for the housing market and, more significantly, for homebuyers, were omitted during the address, opting instead to be ‘announced’ within the Autumn Statement policy paper. How many of the general public read the full 120-page Treasury report, you wonder.
So, for those who didn’t take in the unspoken detail, one of the key measures for would-be homeowners is the extension of the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. The scheme enables the availability of 95 per cent loan to value (LTV) mortgages, which will now end in June 2025 rather than December this year, an extension of 18 months.
There were no direct announcements on the day or within the Treasury’s report to support first-time buyers, nor any measures introduced on Stamp Duty, which was widely rumoured before the statement was delivered.
Outside of the delivery of new homes and the housing supply, the announcement of pilot schemes to boost employment opportunities through apprenticeships and placements for job seekers were encouraging.
This will aid the growth of those related sectors, including engineering, which should provide an uplift for and increase of skilled workers across the country.
How did the property industry react to the Autumn Statement?
While the unfreezing of the Local Housing Allowance was widely praised, the apparent lack of ambition shown in the statement was met with discontent and in some areas, apathy, from industry commentators.
Metropolitan Thames Valley Homes’ Chief Executive, Geeta Nanda, stated she was “disappointed by the long-term ambition shown by the government to tackle the housing crisis.” Meanwhile, Greg Reed, Chief Executive of Places for People, simply noted “today is a missed opportunity.”
Shelter’s Chief Exec, Polly Neate, commented on the unfreezing of housing benefits in a positive manner, to note “we are pleased that the Chancellor has listened and taken a crucial step to stop rising homelessness” but did urge the government to act immediately on this same matter, and not delay during the most difficult winter months.
Gavin Smart, meanwhile, spoke on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Housing by stating his “delight” at “the uprating of the Local Housing Allowance”, which in his view, will “make a big difference to those struggling the most.”
So, what did we learn from the Autumn Statement?
The fallout from the Autumn Statement has focused on an open-goal missed by not channelling enough policies directly into the people who need support the most in the country, and that goes for the housing market, too.
Perhaps a slip in the importance of communication, and communications, but when the country looked towards this statement for hope, the delivery fell flat and shy of the nation’s expectations.
In communications, particularly at the highest level, it is so often the case that what you say and how you say it can prove more important than the detail of the points you’re making.
When you have an audience hanging from your every word, it’s paramount that what you say has meaning, substance, and offers positivity and hope to those listening.
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