Industry experts are warning that the Chancellor’s latest Budget could put significant pressure on the UK housing market. Richard Pike, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Phoebus Software, said rising taxes on property, dividends, and savings income may discourage landlords from investing, potentially reducing rental supply and pushing up rents. He also highlighted that cuts to cash ISA limits and rising costs for housebuilders do little to address the UK’s housing shortage, leaving many households reliant on an already constrained private rental sector.
Richard Pike, chief sales and marketing officer at Phoebus Software, said:
“This was a Budget of tax increases that will have huge implications for the housing market. Homeowners, landlords and banks and building societies will all be negatively impacted by the Chancellor’s plans, and there was nothing in her annual address that will help to stimulate the supply side of the housing market.
The UK already has the highest property tax burden in the developed world, and the measures announced today will just escalate this. The so-called ‘mansion tax’ will hit those who are asset-rich and cash poor hardest and will stifle activity in the housing market.
Landlords, who are already under financial pressure, will be discouraged even further from investing in property by the increase in tax rates on dividends, property and savings income. This is a massive own goal by Rachel Reeves, as many low-income households rely on the private rental sector for their housing. This could drive many landlords to sell up, reducing the supply of rental properties and potentially pushing up rents.
And the decision to decrease the cash ISA savings limit will reduce the amount of savings held by banks and building societies, potentially limiting the flow of long-term capital to lend.
The Chancellor talked a lot about growth, but there was nothing in the Budget about stimulating the housing supply. There’s already a huge scepticism about the Government’s plans to build 1.5million homes, and it was disappointing that there were no measures to incentivise or remove barriers to house building. In fact, housebuilders will see costs increase because of the minimum wage rise.”
