The cut to Stamp Duty will not solve the wider issue of affordability

Rising inflation, interest rate hikes and the cost-of-living crisis have taken their toll on the economy and the new chancellor is betting on tax cuts to stimulate growth.

This mini-Budget comes after the Bank of England announced that Britain was now in recession, so the Government has once again turned to the housing market to become a catalyst for economic growth. 

The cut to Stamp Duty announced today will be welcomed by people currently buying a house, but this will not solve the wider issue of affordability in the property market.

As we saw during the pandemic, when you create incentives to buy, you see demand soar. As demand increases, the number of available properties falls, pushing house prices up. An increase in demand now would come at a time when the supply of housing is already low, with house prices already inflated beyond the budgets of many buyers.

The housing market is intrinsically tied to the health of the economy. Home-movers spend an average of £12 billion a year on home-related purchases such as furnishings and renovation. Moving can benefit other aspects of the economy, so it is good to see action taken to energise the property market.

The Government needs to address the issue of housing supply by making home-building a priority. The review on planning systems for infrastructure announced today could go some way towards easing the supply issue, but it relies on the Chancellor’s pledge to ‘get Britain building’.