HOUSEBUILDERS welcomed the Chancellor's decision to bring forward a multi-million pound investment in new social housing, but there was disappointment that the holiday on stamp duty is not to be extended.
Neil Francis, company secretary at York-based Persimmon, said the main benefit of yesterday's announcement will be the decision to bring forward investment in social housing from 2010/11 to 2008/09.
"We only build when we get an order, so better f
unding for housing associations will be a stimulus," he said. "It will benefit Persimmon and all the other housebuilders."
The Chancellor said £150m will be spent providing 2,000 more homes for social rent and £100m to "key regeneration and housing infrastructure pro-jects".
Mr Francis said that the most important thing the Chancellor can do for the housing market is to stabilise the economy.
"When people buy a house they ask two questions – is my job safe and can I get a mortgage?" said Mr Francis. "So any wider measures that can help the economy will help the housing market."
But he expressed disappointment that first-time buyers have not been offered more help to obtain deposits from banks.
"What we want to see is a flow of new mortgages from banks and building societies," said Mr Francis.
"The Government savings plan to help bridge the gap won't come into play until 2010. We need it now."
However he welcomed the news that home-owners are to be given three-months grace before repossession proceedings begin.
"It will stop the flood of properties coming onto the market through repossessions, but it's difficult to say whether the three-month window will be sufficient," said Mr Francis. "A longer period would have been helpful."
The Home Builders Federation expressed disappointment that no mention was made of extending the stamp duty holiday for properties worth less than £175,000.
The Federation is calling for the stamp duty holiday to be extended to properties worth up to £1m.
