The industry reacts to the Spring Statement

Phillip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has now delivered his Spring Statement and amongst the bad jokes, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to oversee the building of 3000,000 homes annually.

Hammond also announced the plans to build 26,000 new affordable homes in the capital and highlighted that 60,000 first time buyers have already seen the benefits of the Stamp Duty relief.

Adding to this, the Housing Growth Partnership, which provides financial support for small housebuilders will be more than doubled to £220 million.

As always, the property industry was quick to react. Here what they’re saying:

Mathew Wood, Managing Director of Orchards Estates comments ““Bearing in mind that it is only four months since the investment of £44bn to raise housing supply was announced, it appears the government is indeed holding to its promise of making housing a priority. The government is clearly committed to addressing the UK's ongoing housing problems. Increasing the supply of available homes to buy is a key strategy and one that could have obvious positive outcomes in the future – especially for those in South Somerset who saving to get on the property ladder. I would like more detail of the overall plans for the housing market but it looks like we’ll have to wait until November for that.”

Simon Heawood, CEO at property investment platform Bricklane.com, comments: “Philip Hammond’s announcement in the Spring Statement that an investment programme of £44 billion will see the UK on track to deliver 300,000 houses by mid-2020 is great news, provided it is actually delivered. We're seeing movements towards the government really dealing with the affordability crisis, though we believe a holistic set of solutions is required to meeting this complex challenge. The recent cut to stamp duty and building announcements are welcome for those lucky enough to be able to buy. We would like to see more done to help those saving to get on the ladder, as well as moves to further professionalise the rental market for tenants."

Neil Cobbold, Chief Operating Officer of PayProp in the UK, had this to say: "Due to the shift to annual Treasury reporting, the Spring Statement was not as in-depth or wide-ranging as an annual Budget. That said, relatively few housing measures and spending plans made it into the Chancellor's statement.”