Press Release Summary = The difficulties first-time buyers have been suffering in trying to get on the UK housing ladder are well known. Rising house prices, particularly in the most expensive areas such as London, the impact of other debts on their ability to raise the deposit and the refusal of the chancellor to raise the stamp duty threshold in the last two budgets to take into account rising prices have all added to the growing woes of this beleaguered group of would-be homeowners.
Press Release Body = The difficulties first-time buyers have been suffering in trying to get on the UK housing ladder are well known. Rising house prices, particularly in the most expensive areas such as London, the impact of other debts on their ability to raise the deposit and the refusal of the chancellor to raise the stamp duty threshold in the last two budgets to take into account rising prices have all added to the growing woes of this beleaguered group of would-be homeowners.
Calls for action are coming from many quarters. Nationwide Building Society have called on Gordon Brown to raise the lower limit for stamp duty from £125,000 to £210,000, while the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has gone further, making a specific request for 20,000 new and affordable homes to be built for young first-time buyers as part of a concerted social housing policy. The TUC has announced that general secretary Brendan Barber will be visiting the Glastonbury Festival to give backing to homeless charity Shelter\'s campaign for an increase in social housing stock.
It is little surprise that such moves are being advocated. The latest housing market survey by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) shows that the number of first-time buyers is consistently falling and is down to 8.9 per cent of the market. NAEA president Stewart Lilly said he was \"alarmed\" by the \"worrying\" trend and added: \" I continue to urge the government to start making more allowances for this struggling sector and would like to see more initiatives put in place so this figure does not continue to drop.\"
While such a situation persists, there is a clear opportunity for the buy-to-let market. The NAEA figures suggest many are giving up, at least for now, on any hopes of owning a home. Many may be biding their time and waiting for a market correction, or put off by the current level of interest rates. In the meantime, a large number of young people, including professionals and graduates who in the past would as a matter of course become homeowners, are looking to rent instead.
Given that the same chancellor who has not raised the stamp duty threshold since it was doubled in 2005 is about to become prime minister and might reasonably be expected to appoint a new chancellor in the same mould, it is not certain what government policy might be.
Ireland has just announced the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers, but there has been no indication that Mr Brown\'s government will do likewise. He has pledged to deal with the housing affordability issue, but what sort of policies, either in terms of house building or financial measures he and his chancellor will provide and how long they may take to impact on the situation is of course unknown. This means in turn it cannot be said with certainty how long the potential market for buy-to-let investors will remain as strong as it is now. But the opportunity certainly exists at present and may even grow before any remedial policies start to take effect.
2022
