Spending review - National home building fund "needs to translate into action"

26 November 2020

Comment from John Goodall, economist and CEO of buy-to-let lender Landbay:

“In a year that has seen the highest borrowing in peacetime history, the housing market has held up remarkably well. Buoyed by the stamp duty holiday, demand to buy still outstrips the supply of housing by some margin, so the need to increase the housing stock grows ever more urgent. The Chancellor’s £7.1bn national home building fund is a step in the right direction but needs to translate into action, so we really see more homes being built and quickly.

“With unemployment to hit 7.5% next year and stamp duty reintroduced, it will be harder for many people to buy, but that doesn’t take away the need for housing. With councils and housing associations unable to meet this need, that demand will inevitably fall on the private rental sector instead. While the government needs all the income it can get, a tapering of the stamp duty holiday beyond 31st March and support for landlords to provide good quality rental property is what is needed to help meet this housing need as the need for rental property is likely to hit heights not seen in modern times.”