Property Press Online

On Thursday the 19th of December, the Queen made a speech at the State Opening of Parliament. She covered many issues such as internet safety, the Living Wage, the National Insurance threshold, and she didn’t miss out housing.

Which housing issues were brought up?

Now aged 93, the Queen stated that the government will support home ownership, which includes discounts for ‘local first-time buyers’. She also claimed that measures will be implemented to help protect tenants in rental property, as well as improve the safety of buildings.

Were any housing issues missed out?

It’s been noted though that certain housing aspects were missed off the speech. There wasn’t a referral to larger targets for new houses being built, or the surcharge on Stamp Duty of 3% for foreign buyers owning property in the UK. Additionally, social housing was missed off. All of these are important factors playing parts in the UK housing crisis.

How will the property market be affected in 2020?

Rightmove has predicted a 2% increase in property asking prices for 2020. This is because the Conservative government winning the general election has increased confidence in the British economy, with an expected release of those holding back in selling their property. In the short-term, it’s unknown if the number of homes sold will rise because it’s dependent on the gap in expectations of pricing between sellers and buyers.

What about the Budget?

It’s not until February that the Budget will be announced, and therefore there is still uncertainty around tax changes. For housing, it’s stamp duty which people aren’t sure how it will change.

Stamp duty is one of the largest expenses when purchasing a house, so even a 1% change in the charge can have large impacts on affordability for people. We may therefore find that before any possible changes to stamp duty could come into place, people grab their chance to buy their home now that they’re more comfortable with the government and Brexit.

Could there be confusion over housing prices?

There may be confusion stopping the acceleration in the property market expected by the Budget uncertainty. With so many changes going on in the political world, house prices are uncertain in terms of what sellers are willing to sell for, and buyers are willing to buy for. Therefore, there may be a stand off between buyers and sellers if there’s disagreement to the value of houses. The mismatch of opinions to selling prices can delay the whole process with longer negotiating periods and interested buyers dropping out.

What about other issues?

Outside of property, the Queen said that the Living Wage and National Insurance threshold are going to increase, and policies on social care will improve. It was said that the social care system will provide “everyone with the dignity and security they deserve, and that no-one who needs care has to sell their home to pay for it.”

To support working families, the NI threshold and National Living Wage will be increased. Flexible working will be encouraged, measures to help people save for later life will be introduced, and an entitlement to leave for unpaid carers will come about.