Spring Statement of little comfort to buyers, renters owners or landlords
Mar 27, 2025
As widely expected, Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement was thin on announcements for the property industry, with many saying that it is another missed opportunity to address issues across the housing and rental sectors.
However, there was little comfort for first-time buyers, homeowners, or landlords. Here are some views from industry professionals:
STAMP DUTY
As many in the industry expected, no mention was made of extending the Stamp Duty deadline, meaning April 1st will be no joke for thousands of home movers and first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland who now face an extra £2,500 in stamp duty costs.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients: “The Chancellor missed an opportunity to boost all-important transactions by extending the stamp duty concession or introducing some discount for downsizers. She did nothing for first-time buyers, with no incentives or assistance to get them on the housing ladder. This is significant as first-time buyers are the lifeblood of the market and enable existing homeowners to move up the ladder.
MORTGAGES
Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla: “The top priority should be an easing of mortgage regulations, which will support first-time buyers, an important buyer group for homebuilders and the broader market.
“This would also help the rental sector, where there are still 12 people chasing every home for rent, with those on low incomes bearing the brunt. Increased funding for social housing is essential in the upcoming Spending Review to help support housing delivery and boost the stock of social rented homes, which has been static for 30 years.”
DOWNSIZERS
Simon Webb, managing director of capital markets and finance at LiveMore: "The Spring Statement reinforces the need for the industry to take the lead in driving change for mid-to-later-life borrowers, many of whom struggle to access suitable mortgage products despite being financially responsible.
“Collaboration is key. Lenders, brokers and policymakers must work together to make the later-life mortgage market more accessible. Expanding mortgage flexibility, streamlining application processes, and developing new products that better reflect later-life incomes are all within our reach.
FIRST TIME BUYERS
Felicity Barnett, Lender Operations Manager, Mortgage Advice Bureau: “More emphasis needs to be placed on the first-time buyer market. As an industry, we must now work as a collective to lower the current average first-time buyer age of 35+, providing those in their twenties with more accessible, affordable options to get on the property ladder.
“In particular, there needs to be a marked shift in boosting the number of renters transitioning to become first-time buyers. These are prospective homeowners who are currently trapped by strict affordability criteria.
"For starters, more could be done at the government level to fully realise Shared Ownership's true potential, but this still won't be enough on its own to achieve housebuilding targets. We’ll wait with bated breath to see how the FCA’s proposals to relax mortgage lending rules develop in the next few months.”
RENTERS
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association: “Today’s statement has done nothing to a) tackle the chronic shortage of rental housing to meet demand, b) to reform a broken tax system, which is failing to encourage and support investment in energy efficiency improvements, and c) to address the unjust freeze on housing benefit, which is leaving so many renters fearful of how they will afford their rents.”
ENERGY PERFORMANCE
Ben Thompson, Deputy CEO, Mortgage Advice Bureau: “We’ve long campaigned that those who buy or retrofit their homes to a higher EPC rating should be rewarded. This is alongside pushing for more concrete investment to encourage retrofitting 29 million UK homes. We believe this can be achieved through offering a Stamp Duty refund to those who buy and then retrofit to an EPC rating of C or above, and we hope this will be reconsidered by the government in the future.”
PLANNING
Housebuilding, easing planning rules and improving the supply of new homes is vital but there was very little detail as to how these targets will be delivered.
There was a nod toward how the new planning reform was 'taking us to within touching distance' of Labour's housing targets of 1.5m new homes in 5 years, and mentions of this week's announcements of £600m earmarked for construction sector training and £2bn for affordable housing.
Melanie Leech, Chief Executive, British Property Federation: “We need the whole industry to be firing on all cylinders, including our under-resourced planning departments. That means 3000 more planners rather than the 300 that have been pledged, and we would urge the Government to consider how its Transformation Fund can be used to enhance skills and capacity.”
Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals: “We need more than just planning reforms to truly unlock the potential of the property sector. Stamp duty reform, mortgage accessibility, and targeted incentives for buyers and sellers must all be on the agenda if we are to create a sustainable and thriving housing market that benefits both individuals and the economy as a whole.”
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Image: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1mn4nn01gmo
