Ministers Urged To Create 250,000 New Homes For ‘Heroes’ Of The Pandemic

 The Government is being urged to create 250,000 new homes for key workers as a reward for their efforts during the pandemic. The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) – a centre-right think tank – has called on ministers to set aside land for a new class of “homes for heroes”. The CPS said the majority of properties should be offered on a rent-to-buy or shared ownership basis, with the rest on long leases, with priority given to local key workers – both public and private sector. Read more on the Belfast Telegraph website.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/ministers-urged-to-create-250000-new-homes-for-heroes-of-the-pandemic-40855783.html

Government ‘Should Overhaul’ Stamp Duty To Boost Housing Market

The government should slash stamp duty to help boost housebuilding and encourage people to buy their own homes, a new report has stated. Stamp duty is the second most unpopular UK levy behind inheritance tax, and a gradual rise in rates has meant the average buyer in England pays £2,300 when they buy a property. Think tank the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) branded stamp duty a “tax on mobility and aspiration” and urged the government to raise the threshold from £125,000 to £500,000. The report proposed that a four per cent levy be charged on properties between £500,000 and £1m, and five per cent on anything higher. Read more on the CITY AM website.

https://www.cityam.com/government-should-overhaul-stamp-duty-to-boost-housing-market/

People In Favour Of New Homes In Their Own Back Yard

People in Britain have switched from being anti-housing to being in favour of more new homes being built in their area, a new study has found. The survey of 2,036 adults confirmed the shift detected by the British Social Attitudes Survey over the past six years as voters now say, by a margin of 48% to 33%, that they would support more homes being built. The poll by ComRes for the Centre for Policy Studies was carried out to measure the impact of the housing crisis on public attitudes, and found that the new stance holds true across all ages, social classes and political persuasions, and in every region except the South East of England. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/more-people-in-britain-are-in-favour-of-new-home-in-their-own-back-yard/

Affordable Housing Disputes Are ‘Costing London Homes’

A new report on home building in London says the number of housing starts has “gone backwards” under Sadiq Khan – citing evidence that an increasing proportion of those homes that are being built end up in the hands of foreign buyers.  The report also features new research setting out the historic under-supply of homes in the UK across regions, and makes the economic and social case for home ownership. With the average first time buyer having to save for 10 years to put together a deposit and home ownership rates falling among the young, the report – Homes for Everyone –  sets out detailed proposals for how to push housebuilding up towards the Government’s target of 300,000 a year. Download the report from the Centre for Policy Studies website.