"If more efforts were made to improve the transaction process, speeding it up and reducing the unacceptable level of risk that people currently have to accept on the market, it would make homebuying far more attractive and affordable"
- Ruth Beeton - Home Sale Pack
Home Sale Pack has surveyed 1,039 UK home sellers to gauge their opinion on the current government’s plans and policies surrounding the housing market, specifically, the efforts being made to make buying a home easier and more accessible.
Much of the government’s current and proposed housing policy focuses largely on the plight of first-time buyers, from the reintroduction of Help to Buy to the scrapping of stamp duty for those buying their first home.
When Home Sale Pack asked current sellers whether they think the government is giving too much focus to first-time buyers at the expense of all other buying demographics, opinion was split down the middle. 49% of sellers say ‘yes’, too much attention is being given to first-timers, while 51% think the balance is right.
However, sellers are in broader agreement when asked about the government’s focus on cost-saving policies.
While 17% think it’s good to focus mainly on cost-cutting exercises such as stamp duty holidays, 83% think more efforts should focus on actually addressing the wider issues that currently impact the UK housing market.
For example, an overwhelming majority of 93% believe there needs to be more security and certainty during the transaction process to prevent sales from falling through after an offer has been accepted.
With a general election just around the corner, the policies and promises of the current government could be null and void as a new party and new Prime Minister win the keys to Number 10.
With this in mind, Home Sale Pack asked sellers what they would most like the next government to focus on when it comes to housing policy.
Most sellers (30%) responded by saying they want to see more security and certainty given to the transaction process, particularly from the point that an offer has been accepted.
29% want to see more new homes delivered to the market, and 25% want more focus on speeding up the transaction process.
Meanwhile, just 16% want to see an increase in the number of cost-saving incentives for those who are buying a property.
Ruth Beeton, Co-Founder of Home Sale Pack, says: “This government, and many that have come before it, don’t seem to have any real understanding of what people want when it comes to housing policy.
"There is, of course, a need for more stock in order for more people to be able to find a suitable home of their own, but this does nothing to address the crippling inefficiencies within the buying and selling process that are causing frustration and financial jeopardy for so many buyers and sellers alike.
"If more efforts were made to improve the transaction process, speeding it up and reducing the unacceptable level of risk that people currently have to accept on the market, it would make homebuying far more attractive and affordable.
"Doing this would also contribute towards making the market more accessible for first-time buyers because it would mean more existing owners are willing to engage with the selling process. This would increase the number of people who want to upgrade from, for example, their first home to a larger family home, thus freeing up affordable first-home stock for those wanting to make their first purchase.”
