Chancellor George Osborne
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Latest property news
Former Chancellor pours cold water on Government’s house-building targets
George Osborne tells Neg conference that 300,000 is unachievable without major Government intervention in market.
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Latest property news
George Osborne confirmed as key speaker at The Neg Conference
Former Chancellor and now back-room supporter of current No.11 resident is to appear on the Neg stage this Friday.
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Latest property news
Chancellor’s assault on buy-to-let “is mystifying”
The Chancellor George Osborne has been slammed for his outright assault on buy-to-let investors following the introduction of a stamp duty surcharge last week, while also exempting landlords from fresh cuts to Capital Gains Tax, and planning further tax increases on property investors. The former Editor of The Times and the London Evening Standard, Simon Jenkins (left), questioned in his latest column for The Guardian columnist whether George Osborne was really a Tory. He also described Osborne’s “assault” on buy-to-let as “mystifying”. He wrote, “With the withering away of public housing, private renting is how evermore people live, especially in cities. They include the migratory rich, millennials, those unable to afford a house and those who are just very poor and cannot get a council tenancy. Between 2001 and 2011, private renting in London went from 17 per cent to 26 per cent of the housing market, and is continuing to rise.” Jenkins believes that encouraging the release of under-occupied space is the one sure answer to the housing shortage, and the most efficient way of doing this is by encouraging letting, especially in London. “Renting is the most efficient use of urban property. It keeps things flexible. It is…
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Housing Market
Investors deterred by buy-to-let clampdown
For many people buy-to-let has been an attractive income investment at a time of low saving rates and stock market volatility. But with the Chancellor George Osborne making it his goal to create what he described as a “level playing field” between landlords and those buying homes to live in, many would-be landlords are now put off the idea of investing in property, new research shows. Around one in four would-be landlords have been deterred from the idea of investing in the buy-to-let sector by the Government’s proposed 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge, according to the study by online investment platform rplan.co.uk. The study has also shown that 9 per cent of UK adults have given up on aspirations to own a buy-to-let property while 30 per cent are still considering whether to do so. Some 14 per cent existing landlords say they will now sell one or more of their properties because of the new rules. In his Autumn Statement last year, the Chancellor announced that a 3 per cent rise in stamp duty for buyers of second homes and buy-to-let landlords will come into play from April, almost trebling the purchase tax on a typical £275,000 buy-to-let…
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Housing Market
Osborne vows to build more new homes
George Osborne used his party conference speech in Manchester this week to reaffirm the Conservative policy toward housing. The Chancellor George Osborne during his speech to Conservative Party conference in Manchester described the Tories as “the builders” with a plan for a prosperous future for working people. The Chancellor announced plans to sweep away planning rules delaying house building on brownfield sites this autumn in a bid to boost the number of new build homes being delivered by developers across the UK. The Government has also pledged to spend an extra £5 building on housing schemes, as well as other projects, and has set up a new independent national board to review spending priorities across various sectors, including house building. Mr Osborne told the conference in Manchester, “Building doesn’t come easy and especially when it comes to new homes and infrastructure that the country needs. “We are going to get many more homes built for families to buy, we’re sweeping away planning rules on brownfield sites, this autumn we will direct our housing budget towards new homes for sale. “We will give housing association tenants the right to buy. We’ve had enough of people who own their own home lecturing…
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Housing Market
Housing industry welcomes Chancellor’s planning shake-up
The Government has released proposals to tackle the UK planning system with a view to speeding up house building as part of its Productivity Plan. The Chancellor George Osborne last week said that the Government is changing the country’s planning laws to make it easier for house builders to develop more residential properties. Under the new plan, planning consent would be granted automatically on suitable disused industrial land, limiting delays to development, under the reforms, while a higher number of brownfield plots could also be seized for development through new compulsory purchase powers. What’s more, major infrastructure projects that feature new homes will be fast-tracked to meet local housing demands. “Britain has been incapable of building enough homes,” said George Osborne. “The reforms we made to the planning system in the last parliament have started to improve the situation: planning permissions and housing starts are at a seven-year high.” “But we need to go further and I am not prepared to stand by when people who want to get on the housing ladder can’t do so,” he added. The Chancellor’s planning changes were described as a “major step towards solving the housing crisis” by Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the…
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