Political parties announce housing solutions By Yuan Phoon


the three major political par- ties have each announced new strategies for addressing the housing shortage at their annual party conferences held in the past fortnight. andrew Stunnell, Liberal


democrat regeneration min- ister, announced that local au- thorities could be given the power to charge an additional tax on owners of homes that had been vacant for more than two years. He said it was a “crime” that 300,000 properties, equivalent to two years’ new housing supply, had been vacant for more than six months at a time of chronic housing shortage. Labour shadow ministers


called for a “new generation of council house building” in order to kick start the econo- my and provide homes and


Money and confidence


by


Robert Sinclair director AMI


as we head into autumn the world’s capital markets continue to pirouette as governments confront the need to deal with the debt crisis. the lack of confi- dence in an agreed solution and the increasing fear of failure are continuing to stifle both liquidity and capital. We need decisive ac- tion from politicians to deal


jobs, at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool. Labour also planned on ap-


plying pressure on mortgage providers to increase home lending. caroline Flint, shadow communities secretary for Labour, said: “We should be looking to new models of home ownership. this can only be done if additional fi- nance, particularly from insti- tutional sources, is brought to bear on increasing the supply of new affordable homes.” the conservative party an- nounced it will give social housing residents bigger price discounts on the exist- ing right to buy scheme and said progress was being made on the “build now, pay later” scheme. Prime minister david cam-


eron said during the conser- vative party conference that


with global capital imbal- ances and national debt and expenditure issues. only once these are addressed can our banks begin to have confidence in each other and restore a sense of eco- nomic order. Whilst the greeks are front of stage, the uS hav- ing raised its debt ceiling is back in denial and looks as though it will stay there till the next ceiling arrives like a hurricane. Similarly we await the Financial Services authority mortgage market review proposals which remain over-shadowed by european directive proposals. the debates to be conducted in the six months from november will frame the mortgage market


the bigger price discounts on the existing right to buy scheme could generate funds to build new social housing on a one-for-one basis. esti- mates suggest this could pro- duce 100,000 homes. the build now, pay later


scheme could also see 100,000 homes built on state-owned land with no upfront cost to developers. By giving away public land


to house builders and only taking payment once the homes are sold, the govern- ment hopes to revive the flag- ging industry. Fahim antoniades, group director at mortgage centre iFa, said: “every little helps. However the government’s plan relies on council tenants being able to mortgage the discounted purchase price. “given that many might not have the financial means


in conduct terms for the next decade. the world’s politicians have the task of delivering a credible global economic story in the same time frame.


So whilst the uK contin-


ues down the road of wean- ing itself off public expen- diture to a more sustainable cost base, unemployment rises and confidence ebbs. inflation continues to worry savers, but is rebasing real asset values. this backdrop gives builders and bankers little confidence in property values and demand, so we can expect fund availability to continue at current levels until we see some different news. our currency remains stable but it is also crucial that we maintain our credit


to raise the required deposits, it relies on lenders being will- ing to lend on the discounted purchase price and i wonder how this element has been factored in to the govern- ment’s plan.” ray Boulger, senior techni-


cal director at John charcol, said: “Both of these measures by the current government can help without significantly distorting the market. How- ever macro matters such as the eurozone banking crisis will be much more im- portant to the health of the property and mortgage mar- kets in the short to medium term.” “it will also be important to


learn lessons on the provision of mortgage advice. Some of the worst cowboys in the mortgage industry targeted the right to buy market in its heyday.”


rating and the linked ability to refinance our national debt at low rates over the long-term. as we move towards


the next uK Budget our industry needs to get behind one policy request. Having debated this long and hard the initiative that will help consumers, build- ers and affordability would be big changes to Stamp duty Land tax. i think the industry needs to agree a single request to govern- ment with full support from builders, landlords, valuers, estate agents, lend- ers, brokers and consumer groups. With one industry message to treasury we have more opportunity for success.


mortgage introducer OCTOBER 2011 5


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