Trouble Ahead for housing market, warn brokers on Budget Day

Trouble Ahead for housing market, warn brokers on Budget Day


Todays other news
Consensus remains that the Bank of England will cut rates...
Average house prices are set to increase by £84,000 over...
The government’s Budget could have serious implications for the housing...
There was a 5.4% rise in buyers instructing a home...
First-time buyers across 31% of local authorities in England will...

Mortgage advisers see a difficult few months ahead for the housing market, research suggests.

Mortgage network PRIMIS surveyed 223 appointed representatives across England in mid-October and found that 60% believe today’s Budget will negatively impact the housing market.

However, they did also see differing fortunes for key markets in the Budget.

Some 54% thought that the government may yet help first-time buyers but were united (96%) in their assessment that the Budget would negatively impact the Buy-to-Let market.

Two thirds expect the touted Inheritance Tax changes to improve demand for Equity Release products as home-owners seek to mitigate changes to the tax thresholds.

Brokers from the South, North and Midlands took part in the survey. Brokers in the North were the least pessimistic about the impact of the Budget on the housing market with 52% expecting a negative impact on the market compared to 64% in the other two regions. But elsewhere, the results were consistent across the three regions.

Emma Hollingworth, Chief Distribution Officer at LSL, says the data reflects brokers’ expectations about the impact of tax rises across the entire market. 

“Our advisers report a very consistent picture. The withdrawal of stamp duty next March, and the likely changes to Capital Gains Tax, mean our brokers responses reflect nervousness among home-buyers and investors.

“Only Equity Release appears to have surfaced as a market which may benefit from the Budget, as many more estates are caught up in the likely Inheritance Tax reforms and seek to mitigate their liabilities.

Hollingworth adds that the survey underlined not only the broker mood around direct tax impacts but also those that will indirectly impact affordability.

“No one can really know the impact of hikes on Employer National Insurance contributions or any changes to employer pension contributions, but a softer labour market will undoubtedly affect lenders’ risk appetites. Whatever the outcome of this Budget, we believe brokers will be busy as customers reassess their financial positions. That’s where being part of a network, which can support its brokers while they get on with the business of advising, is so important.

Share this article ...

Join the conversation: Login and have your say

Subscribe to comments
Notify of
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Recommended for you
Related Articles
UK net mortgage approvals edged up in September - the...
A Rightmove survey of over 34,000 people identifies what people...
The average price of a home in Wales dropped to...
Will this week’s Budget to produce clarity on the government’s...
Bad news - the Bank of England is widely expected...
Mortgage rates are likely to rise as a result of...
Mortgage advisers see a difficult few months ahead for the...
Recommended for you
Latest Features
Consensus remains that the Bank of England will cut rates...
Average house prices are set to increase by £84,000 over...
The government’s Budget could have serious implications for the housing...
Sponsored Content
Historically second charge mortgages or secured loans as they are...
Lenders must say what they mean and mean what they...
Fraudsters attacking the conveyancing sector, successfully stealing large sums of...
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x

Send to a friend

In order to send this article to a friend you must first login. Click on the button below to login or sign up.

No one likes pop-ups ...
But while you're here