Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, has expressed his disappointment at a number of issues raised by the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement earlier today.
He said: “As we’ve been saying for a long time, the lack of housing supply is crippling the property market. If Help to Buy is to remain, Right to Buy extended, and expensive social housing sold off then the Government’s commitment to building houses simply must be extended.
“The £1bn of loans to unblock housing development across the country will contribute towards housing need and will drive construction jobs. However, we still believe housing is not at the centre of a coordinated property-led growth that supports a balanced regional recovery where all can access the market. The increase in the HRA borrowing cap will only make a very minor dent in the housing deficit.
“It was also disappointing to see long overdue changes to stamp duty have been ignored, particularly as the amount of revenue generated from this is rising sharply. The government plans to collect more than £60bn over the next five years in stamp duty receipts from British householders. Moving away from stamp duty brackets to a marginal system would be a boost to those struggling with the cost of living and help boost the number of property transactions. This will remove the so-called ‘dead zone’ created by the previous structure which saw a dearth of properties on the market between £250,000 and £270,000.
“Business rates are currently imposing a very heavy burden on SMEs and today’s measures provide real support for business growth. The reoccupation relief will go some way to regenerate the high street at time when the latest RICS Commercial Survey shows an upturn in interest in retail space.”
