Almost nine in 10 property developers feel the next government needs to do more to support first-time buyers, a poll conducted by a lender found.
Shawbrook surveyed 567 property developers and discovered 39% believed support for first-time buyers should be a main priority for the state.
The poll also found that a quarter of developers backed the introduction of a scheme to replace Help to Buy, while 27% were in favour of low-deposit mortgages.
A further 29% suggested stamp duty should be scrapped for all first-time buyers. Currently, first-time buyers do not need to pay stamp duty on properties up to the value of £500,000. The threshold has been temporarily raised from a maximum of £250,000 before the tax kicks in, and it will revert to this level in March 2025.
Property developers also feel planning red tape should be removed to incentivise development, as cited by 30% of those surveyed.
This comes after Labour proposed it would unlock building on ‘grey belts’ and brownfield sites to deliver more homes.
Additionally, 30% of developers said the government should encourage more public-private partnerships to improve housing supply.
Developers’ government wishlist
As a result, 90% of developers said they would prefer a Labour government, suggesting this would benefit the housing market more. However, just 9% of developers think Labour will help first-time buyers specifically.
When asked what changes developers would want to see from a new government, 35% said easier planning permission processes, while 32% called for new schemes to help people onto the property ladder.
Some 31% asked for more support for innovative building methods such as modular construction, and 30% were in favour of stamp duty holidays.
Terry Woodley, managing director of development finance at Shawbrook, said: “The upcoming election has the potential to breathe more life into the construction and property development sector, especially as housebuilding numbers have reduced in recent years. Challenges surrounding a lack of support for first-time buyers as well as a failure to streamline the planning process have led to waning activity levels, and subsequently have caused developers to call on the government to deliver supporting legislation.
“As such, it’s no surprise that our research results had strong numbers advocating for development in reforms such as alternative schemes to Help to Buy, modular construction, and abolishment of stamp duty for first-time buyers.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
