Housing not on the agenda, despite the priority for growth - Comment on the Chancellor's spring budget from Adam Oldfield at Phoebus Software

15 March 2023

Adam Oldfield, chief revenue officer at Phoebus Software, says “We were told not to expect a budget with sweeping changes and unfortunately, as far as the housing market is concerned, that’s exactly what we got. There were measures to alleviate the rising cost of living and get more people back into work, which may give a boost to confidence. However, it is clear that the growth the government is expecting to see from the measures announced in the budget is not expected to come from the housing market, despite growth being a priority.

“Once again, despite many calls for change, the Chancellor has skipped over stamp duty land tax. The antiquated tax is a costly barrier but unfortunately, at over £14billion last year, it contributes far too much to the treasury’s purse.

“Nonetheless, the housing market is notoriously resilient. So perhaps it will be enough that the OBR expects inflation to come down to 2.4% by the end of the year, while the economy continues to grow, for interest rates to steady and for confidence to return.”