End the uncertainty in the property market and let a new generation buy their own homes

Following the recent election results, Joint Managing Director, Mark Sandall, shares his hopes for the UK property market under the new Conservative government.

Housing has been one of the political footballs kicked around in this election. It is a crucial factor in the health of our economy, and most people agree we need to make it easier for people to be able to afford to buy their first home.

The outcome of the 2015 election leaves the future of housing in a slightly better light, with no feeling of uncertainty, which many of us did expect.  

The Conservatives say they believe passionately in home ownership and understand that people are finding it harder and harder to get onto the property ladder. They must stick to their manifesto to keep mortgage rates lower, build more homes for first-time buyers and introduce their Help to Buy ISA to support people saving for a deposit.

We are a nation of homeowners by choice yet for many, it is almost impossibly hard to get onto the property ladder for the first time, and that causes disappointment and frustration. Although the Conservatives have some good policies to help people get on to the property ladder, there is no point simply making more finance available unless there are steps to significantly increase the number of homes being built for sale. Otherwise, the outcome will be yet higher house prices, making the situation worse not better.

We need a government that will take action to keep the property sector buoyant with steps such as creating an easier processes for planning approval. That is especially important for property developers – who take a risk on regenerating our cities with new homes, offices and leisure places - and in the commercial market generally, a part of the property sector that has only recently emerged from one of the worst recessions on record.

The previous government said it wanted to make the UK the best place to run a business, which if achieved, would translate into a commercial property boom that would generate billions in investment and thousands of jobs. Much more still needs to be done to achieve this but it is a vision we need to keep.

With all areas of our business from residential estate agency to commercial and rural property, we hope that the new government will allow us to respond to new initiatives positively and enable our business to grow.

It’s plain to see that implementing new policies or failing to act will have an enormous impact on the economy and people’s living standards, from the commercial property world to planning and the rural economy and, of course, on whether or not many people will ever be able to own their own home.