The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has taken umbrage with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s first full Budget for not going further to help the property market boost growth and drive sustainability.

While RICS concedes it will likely turn out to be a ‘safe’ budget the institution said it was disappointed by the lack of housing ambition.

The fallout from the ‘Mini-Budget’ hit the housing market hard, it said, pointing out that the property industry still has the challenges of limited housing stock and rising rents.

INVESTMENT

“Investment and support in creating housing stock both in the right place and of the right tenure, to support both buyers and renters is critical now more than ever,” RICS says. “This could be through new builds and suitable, standards-driven conversions, given the removal of housebuilding targets.  With political will, there is a way.”

Indeed, the last RICS Residential Market Survey revealed house prices continuing to slip at a national level with sales being agreed at below asking prices but generally within a 5% margin.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, adds: “There is also merit in revisiting the Stamp Duty system, which is detrimental to [sales] activity, including a stamp duty break for downsizers to encourage them and enable them where Stamp Duty is a barrier to their plans to downsize, to free up family-sized homes.”

Elsewhere RICS welcomed the re-ignition of investment zones in certain parts of the UK that will stimulate regeneration but highlighted the need for other policies to go hand in glove with the plans.

PLANNING

Updated planning rules, a business rates discount for new builds and the need to maintain a focus on sustainability and quality are important for these zones to support communities, it said, because not everywhere aims to be a copy of Canary Wharf.

Additional funding for regeneration, and powers to be devolved to regional mayors, specifically the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, would create opportunities for more localised placemaking to be created, it added, aligning with its own Levelling Up and Sustainable Placemaking Report.