Comment on the Budget from Rob Clifford, Chief Executive of mortgage and protection network, Stonebridge

12 March 2020

“There’s no doubt that this is a Budget designed to combat the threat of the coronavirus to the UK economy and therefore the support for businesses is most welcome. As the scale of the threat from the virus has grown in recent weeks, it never seemed likely that this would be a Budget overly focused on the housing and mortgage markets and this has been the case. The announcements on funding for more social housing, a Housing Infrastructure fund, and money to build on brownfield sites were already heavily trailed while stamp duty changes are limited to a 2% surcharge for overseas non-residents purchasing property in the UK which will kick in next April. Given that additional property owners such as landlords already pay 3% extra this might be seen as slightly unfair, however as a result we may see greater levels of activity from overseas purchasers particularly in popular areas like London between now and next April.

“However, this was a Budget, coupled with the Bank of England intervention today, very much focused on staving off a significant contraction in the British economy and, given what Mark Carney said today, we might expect rates to be cut even closer to the 0% floor if the impact of the coronavirus is deeper and more prolonged than we would all hope for. Clearly, at some point we might expect these cuts to slowly inch their way into mortgage product pricing, although rates are incredibly competitive at the moment anyway. Off the back of today, I would urge all advisory firms to be making full and clear contact with their existing client base in order to review their current mortgage situation and needs against what the market has to offer. Plus of course, client contact – even if it’s not face-to-face – could mean the provision of a greater degree of protection for clients’ finances and ensure they are in the best shape possible to move through this situation and to provide peace of mind in the longer term.”