"While the Chancellor has reinforced the government’s commitment to get Britain building again, and declared that households will be £500+ a year better off on average, there was little else for aspiring first-time buyers or home movers to get excited about in today’s Spring Statement"
- Ben Thompson - Mortgage Advice Bureau
As widely expected, today's fiscal event (not a budget as we're repeatedly told) was pretty thin on the ground surrounding announcements for the property industry, with many saying that it was yet another missed opportunity to address issues across the housing and rental sectors.
There was a nod toward how the new planning reform was "taking us to within touching distance" of Labour's ambitious housing targets of 1.5m new homes in 5 years, and mentions of this week's announcements of £600m earmarked for construction sector training and £2bn for affordable housing. However, aside from these brief acknowledgements, there was precious little comfort for first-time buyers, homeowners, or landlords. Maybe no news is good news. I guess we'll find out in October.
Those in the property and housing industries were quick to share their views. Here are some of them:
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, says, “The Spring Statement was underwhelming as far as the housing market is concerned.
“The Chancellor missed an opportunity to boost all-important transactions by extending the stamp duty concession or introducing some discount for downsizers. She also did nothing for first-time buyers, with no incentives or assistance to get them on the housing ladder – a significant shame as first-time buyers are the lifeblood of the market and enable existing homeowners to move up the ladder.
“Housebuilding, easing planning rules and improving the supply of new homes is vital but there was very little detail as to how these targets will be delivered.”
Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla, comments, “The housing market needs a strong and growing economy to support housing supply. It’s promising to see the Government focusing on longer-term impact by boosting funding for new homes and avoiding short-term measures like stamp duty holidays that don’t really help with the fundamental challenges in the housing market.
“The top priority should be an easing of mortgage regulations, which will support first-time buyers, an important buyer group for homebuilders and the broader market.
“This would also help the rental sector, where there are still 12 people chasing every home for rent, with those on low incomes bearing the brunt. Increased funding for social housing is essential in the upcoming Spending Review to help support housing delivery and boost the stock of social rented homes, which has been static for 30 years.”
Simon Webb, managing director of capital markets and finance at LiveMore, said, "The Spring Statement may have been a missed opportunity, but that doesn’t mean we stand still. If anything, it reinforces the need for the industry to take the lead in driving change for mid-to-later-life borrowers, many of whom struggle to access suitable mortgage products despite being financially responsible.
“We know the challenges – rigid affordability criteria, a lack of mortgage flexibility, and a tax system that discourages downsizing. While government support would have helped, the sector has the expertise and capability to push forward regardless. By investing in innovation, improving digital infrastructure, and modernising lending criteria in line with today’s financial realities, we can break down barriers and provide more options for later life borrowers.
“Collaboration will be key. Lenders, brokers, and policymakers must work together to make the later-life mortgage market more accessible. Expanding mortgage flexibility, streamlining application processes, and developing new products that better reflect later-life incomes are all within our reach.
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said, “Today’s statement was a missed opportunity to support renters across the country.
“It has done nothing to tackle the chronic shortage of rental housing to meet demand.
“It has done nothing to reform a broken tax system, which is failing to encourage and support investment in energy efficiency improvements.
“And it has done nothing to address the unjust freeze on housing benefit, which is leaving so many renters fearful of how they will afford their rents.”
Josie Parsons, Chief Executive, Local Space, said, “While this week’s announcement of an extra £2bn to unlock affordable housing delivery is to be welcomed, in the context of soaring levels of homelessness, and the burden this is placing on many councils, we remain deeply concerned about the ability of local government to have adequate funding to deal with this.
"The rising costs of providing temporary accommodation is driving many councils to the point of financial failure and the impact of proposed welfare changes which may affect some of the most vulnerable in society, risk creating a perfect storm of rising homelessness levels and councils less able to afford good quality housing. Given the scale of the challenge we would urge the Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister to enhance homelessness budgets, review the impact of some of the planned welfare changes, and consider diverting some of the £2bn of funding into rapidly scaling-up the supply of high-quality temporary accommodation until the much-needed new social housing becomes available.
"The social and economic consequences of not doing so are significant when we are spending record amounts on temporary accommodation, much of which is sadly not fit-for-purpose.”
William Reeve, CEO, Goodlord, said, “The PRS is creaking under intense pressure. A lot of this is attributable to supply and demand; there simply aren’t enough homes to go around. Today’s announcement that £2bn will be directed towards social house building is welcome, but the planned 18,000 homes barely touch the sides of what’s needed.
“We’re going too slowly to hit the Government’s target of 1.5m new homes this parliament, which in itself won’t be enough to close the UK’s housing gap. And we are falling behind our neighbours - the numbers are stark when you compare our housing stock with countries like France. This is being compounded by anti-market reforms. Despite the Government’s narrative about promoting growth and stripping away red tape, where housing is concerned, it is doing the opposite. It is inhibiting the market from finding solutions that would reduce the amount of money the Government needs to pour into the sector.
“For example, we should scrap provisions in the Renter’s Rights Bill that will suffocate market dynamics, such as bans on ‘over-bidding’ and abolishing fixed-term student tenancies. Both reforms are anti-market and will actually make things harder for tenants, not easier. Likewise, we should remove the artificial barriers between the social and private sectors, introducing more fluid, means-tested pathways between the two sectors and targeting support more effectively. And we should be pushing even harder to drive through planning reform and make investing in property a more attractive option."
Allan Wilen, Glenigan’s Economic Director, said, "The Spring Statement is hardly a game-changer for construction, but no news is good news.
"Developers have been waiting on the sidelines, and if confidence returns, we could see a surge in project starts. Glenigan data shows that £129 billion worth of projects have secured planning approval over the past year, and many of these schemes could now break ground."
Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns for Propertymark, said, “The Spring Statement had a clear focus on the vital role housing plays in the UK economy and as part of the UK Government’s plan for growth, so it is encouraging to hear that planning reforms will boost national income. However, workforce challenges remain, and it’s vital that local councils have the resources required to deliver effective planning and infrastructure so communities up and down the country and the wider economy really benefit.”
Ben Thompson, Deputy CEO, Mortgage Advice Bureau, said, “While the Chancellor has reinforced the government’s commitment to get Britain building again, and declared that households will be £500+ a year better off on average, there was little else for aspiring first-time buyers or home movers to get excited about in today’s Spring Statement.
"The focus now must shift towards more direction and innovation from regulators and lenders to support a larger pool of borrowers and open up the housing market. Responsible lending proposals to consider relaxing affordability criteria and LTI caps, and the development of mortgage products that focus on rental track records are just some of the options that would be welcomed with open arms, making homeownership more accessible and affordable.
“We’ve also long campaigned that those who buy or retrofit their homes to a higher EPC rating should be rewarded. This is alongside pushing for more concrete investment to encourage retrofitting 29 million of UK homes. We believe this can be achieved through offering a Stamp Duty refund to those who buy and then retrofit to an EPC rating of C or above, and we hope this will be reconsidered by the government in the future.”
Felicity Barnett, Lender Operations Manager, Mortgage Advice Bureau, adds, “Today’s announcement that planning reforms will ensure housebuilding reaches a 40-year high, with 1.3m homes predicted to be built over the next five years, is a step in the right direction. Now, our industry must ensure we’re doing everything we can to, as Rachel Reeves highlighted, “come within touching distance” of the 1.5m target.
"In the context of rising rents, house prices, and the cost-of-living, demand for more affordable housing has never been greater - especially in a post Help-to-Buy world. Following these latest announcements, more innovation from lenders is needed. Rather than rinsing and repeating old products, we need to apply outside-of-the-box thinking to enact real change. Focus must shift to how we can open up the contracting market, as opposed to increasing share.
“More emphasis needs to be placed on the first-time buyer market. As an industry, we must now work as a collective to lower the current average first-time buyer age of 35+, providing those in their twenties with more accessible, affordable options to get on the property ladder.
“In particular, there needs to be a marked shift in boosting the number of renters transitioning to become first-time buyers. These are prospective homeowners who are currently trapped by strict affordability criteria. For starters, more could be done at the government level to fully realise Shared Ownership's true potential, but this still won't be enough on its own to achieve housebuilding targets. We’ll wait with bated breath to see how the FCA’s proposals to relax mortgage lending rules develop in the next few months.”
Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, said, “The Chancellor’s Spring Statement highlighted the potential impact of Labour’s planning reforms, with the OBR forecasting a forty-year high in housebuilding. If realised, this could be a game-changer for the housing market, helping to address supply shortages and improve affordability.
"However, while the government acknowledges the housing market’s significant influence on the wider economy, it remains frustrating that it is not being treated as a priority. Increased housing market activity drives consumer spending and economic growth, yet little was said about measures to stimulate transactions and support buyers.
"We need more than just planning reforms to truly unlock the potential of the property sector. Stamp duty reform, mortgage accessibility, and targeted incentives for buyers and sellers must all be on the agenda if we are to create a sustainable and thriving housing market that benefits both individuals and the economy as a whole.”
Melanie Leech, Chief Executive, British Property Federation said, “Against an uncertain economic backdrop, the Chancellor has doubled down on the commitment to ‘back the builders’, with the OBR forecasting 1.3 million homes could be delivered by 2029/30 and planning reforms could be a significant driver of GDP growth.
"This message will be welcomed by the industry, as will the commitments to maintain capital spending on infrastructure and day-to-day Government spending alongside new funding to support construction skills.
“However, we would have liked the Chancellor to unlock even more investment in the context of Regulating for Growth. Delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator are still blocking new home delivery, pension funds need to be allowed to invest more in UK property, and further planning reform is needed to make it easier for institutional money to fund more social and purpose-built private rented homes.
"We need the whole industry to be firing on all cylinders, including our under-resourced planning departments. That means 3000 more planners rather than the 300 that have been pledged, and we would urge the Government to consider how its Transformation Fund can be used to enhance skills and capacity.”
Richard Pike, chief of sales and marketing at Phoebus Software, says, "The Spring Statement was a chance for the government to take meaningful action on the UK’s housing challenges, but it fell short. With housebuilding targets under pressure and affordability concerns growing, we needed bold, practical measures – not just rhetoric.
“Despite Labour’s commitment to boosting housebuilding, the real test lies in delivery. While the OBR forecasts housebuilding will reach its highest level in over 40 years by 2029/30 as a result of planning reforms, it will still fall short of the 1.5 million homes target, but if 1.3 million homes are built, that would still be an excellent result.
“The government must do more to unlock existing supply, particularly in affordable and later-life housing. Greater support for SME developers and a move towards reassessment of stamp duty could have helped create a more dynamic and accessible market at a time when economic uncertainty risks slowing progress further.
“This was a missed opportunity to put forward real solutions to the housing crisis. The industry needs more than warm words—it needs decisive action.”
