Hammond sets his housing policy

Some viewed the Autumn Statement was a "missed opportunity" to help home-movers.

According to some experts, the housing market is currently stalling on second time movers and hopes had been high that Mr Hammond would at the very least deliver a stamp duty holiday.

The statement did nothing to mitigate a series of punitive tax measures imposed on the buy-to-let market by Mr Hammond's predecessor George Osborne, either.

Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners, says: "Although this Autumn Statement hasn’t bludgeoned landlords quite as much as previous versions, investors hoping for some relief from the new chancellor will be bitterly disappointed.

"Crucially, the statement represents a missed opportunity to abolish or at least remove the retrospective nature of the damaging buy-to-let tax changes due to come into effect in April."

What Mr Hammond did pledge to do, was prevent letting agents charging unregulated fees to tenants.

He says the government will ban fees to tenants as soon as possible.

He also made mention of a Housing White Paper, prompting Dean Mirfin, technical director at Key Retirement, to say: “This provides the opportunity for government to focus on the plight of older homeowners who wish to downsize but for lack of appropriate property type.

"A forward-looking policy needs to address the needs of our ageing population. In doing so this will assist in the freeing up of larger homes to help maintain a healthy housing migration."

Construction

Mr Hammond also pledged to increase the number of homes in the UK to meet demand.

Current figures put the number of homes at 28 million in the UK, with the recent Redfern Review citing the lack of homes as one of the reasons behind a significant decline in homeownership.

To counter the lack of supply, the chancellor announced a new £2.3bn Housing Infrastructure Fund for up to 100,000 homes in areas of high demand.

Robin Fieth, chief executive of the Building Societies Association (BSA), comments: "We welcome the recognition given to the importance of infrastructure in housebuilding with the announcement of a £2.3bn housing infrastructure fund.

"BSA research shows the main reason why people oppose new houses being built in their area is because of concerns about increased pressure on local infrastructure.

"This fund should contribute to alleviating these concerns and support an increase in housebuilding. We look forward to seeing the detail in the upcoming Housing White Paper.”

The chancellor also announced a £1.4bn investment to construct 40,000 affordable homes, relaxing restrictions on government grants to allow a wider range of housing types, and a "large-scale" regional pilot of Right to Buy for Housing Association tenants.

Peter Williams, executive director of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, says: "We welcome the chancellor’s promises to confront the housing challenge head-on, but the wait continues for a realistic long-term strategy.

"Successive governments have failed to address the imbalance between supply and demand in the market, which is heavily influenced by lacklustre housebuilding.

"Plans for a new infrastructure fund to support housebuilding in areas of high demand, in addition to a homebuilders’ fund, are a positive step and show a commitment to overcoming these challenges."

Challenge

The day after the Autumn Statement, the Department for Communities and Local Government issued its third-quarter housebuilding statistics, which showed an increase in the number of affordable new homes being built in the UK.

According to the 25-page document, year-on-year figures for starts and completions have shown a positive trajectory.

• Annual new build dwelling starts totalled 147,880 in the year to September 2016.
• Starts were up by 4 per cent compared with the year to September 2015.
• Over the same period, completions totalled 141,690.
• Completions represented increase of 4 per cent compared with last year.

Stephen Smith, director of Legal & General Housing Partnerships, comments: "It is encouraging to see an increase in the number of affordable new homes being built across the UK.

"This, coupled with the pledges chancellor Philip Hammond made in the Autumn Statement, suggests the future looks brighter for the housing market.

"With hints at a Housing White Paper to be delivered by the end of this year, it seems that the government is finally stepping up and tackling the chronic housing crisis once and for all."

Also within the Autumn Statement, Mr Hammond pledged "continued support for home ownership through the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme and the Help to Buy Isa".

But as Ms Hedges of First Complete adds: "In truth, it was a rather bland statement. However, given the Autumn Statement has been abolished, perhaps those in the housing market can expect a more exciting Budget.”

simoney.kyriakou@ft.com