Gemma Penny, associate at city law firm DMH Stallard, says: “I am completely underwhelmed by that Budget from a planning point of view.
“It’s more of the same, and more waiting for the radical change needed.”
Peter Williams, executive director of IMLA, also agreed the measures announced by the chancellor “lacked the scale of ambition to really solve our housing problems” – a situation that cannot be offset by a reduction in SDLT for first-time buyers.
Mr Williams opines: “The political resolution to improve prospects for aspiring homeowners that has seen stamp duty abolished for the majority of first-time buyers will be welcomed by many but in practice it may simply inflate house prices even further.
“Ultimately, there is a real risk that we will see a stoking up on the demand side at a time when there is already a severe imbalance in supply. The government is working hard to boost supply and is making progress.
“We note that the 300,000 more homes promise has now slipped out to the mid-2020s and that it is for net additions rather than newly built homes.”
While he is glad the government recognises the need for a diversity of supply, including local authorities, and more focus on land holdings and garden towns, this is still not enough, in his opinion.
Mr Williams adds: “An underwhelming sense of déjà vu remains. In every Budget new housebuilding pledges are made, yet supply remains too low and prices unobtainable.
“When it comes to the success of the housing aspects of Mr Hammond’s latest Budget, the devil will be in the detail and in moving forward at speed. The clock is ticking ever louder.”
Buy-to-let
Polls on Twitter in the run-up to the Budget had predicted even more pain for landlords, given the recent form of fiscal announcements in favour of first-time homeowners and against later-life professional landlords.
So it was a nice surprise, commentators say, to discover there were no further tax hikes on buy-to-let properties, nor a clamping down on investments such as holiday lets or student accommodation.
Tim Walford-Fitzgerald, private client tax partner at the chartered accountants HW Fisher & Company, comments: “Buy-to-let landlords could be forgiven for pinching themselves. For once they’ve not been the whipping boys of a Budget.
