Habito comments on the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget

Martijn van der Heijden, CFO of award-winning mortgage broker, lender and digital home-buying service, Habito, comments in response to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget.

Martijn van der Heijden says on the Budget:

“The good news is that the Government has today announced a multi-year housing settlement totalling £24 billion, to show its commitment to ‘levelling-up’ the dream of home ownership.

“However, with house price inflation running at 10.6% or £25,000 (according to ONS August 20-21) and with more of our incomes earmarked for national insurance payments and rising food and energy bills, people’s ability to save for a first, or new home, will remain constrained.”

Van der Heijden says on Sustainable and safe housing:

“It’s clear the UK is in need of policies that promote sustainable and safe housing. So, the Government’s proposal to invest £1.8 billion in regenerating brownfield sites, as part of its commitment to build over 1 million new homes, is welcome news. There is a shortage of affordable homes and any new home-building programs could help alleviate some of this pressure. 

“However, these homes need to be built to new green standards, to help the Government’s plans to decarbonise UK housing stock. For too long, there has been a “green premium” across all ‘environmentally-friendly’ products. There shouldn’t be a financial penalty for saving the planet – it can’t be the preserve of the rich or the superfans – solutions must be affordable. 

“As we saw in the pandemic response from the Treasury, nation-wide policies can work brilliantly, when funded correctly. It is absolutely critical that the Government sets aside serious funding to resolve the terrible issue of the cladding crisis. Not least for the mental and financial health of the homeowners impacted, but also to get this part of the property market transacting again.

“There are hundreds of thousands of homeowners who have lived under threat of bankruptcy, trapped in flats that are unsellable and unmortgageable. The £5bn that’s been earmarked to be spent on removing unsafe cladding from the highest risk buildings is not new news, but goes some way to financing a solution for the many impacted.

Kindly shared by Habito

Main photo courtesy of Pixabay