Chancellor announces measures to boost home ownership
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that more mortgages will be available at more than 4.5 times a buyer’s income, in a set of measures announced this week to boost home ownership.
The Government said that up to 36,000 additional mortgages would be made available for first-time buyers during the first year of the change.
The Bank of England has also recommended that some banks and building societies offer more high loan-to-income mortgages.
The Government is also making the mortgage guarantee scheme, which was introduced by the Conservatives, a permanent fixture.
However, the Government’s proposed increase to landfill tax would “threaten the viability” of housing projects, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF).
The proposal would see landfill tax moving to a single tax rate by 2030. Currently there are two rates of tax: standard, at £126.15 per tonne, and inert, at £4.05 per tonne.
The Government are proposing to remove the lower rate of tax; but HBF Executive Director David O’Leary has said that the increase would “threaten the viability of even more projects, leading to fewer affordable homes and reducing supply overall”.
He added: “We are urging government to think again about this tax that would make its ambitious housing target even more difficult to achieve.”
In other news…
The Government has announced five strategic road schemes and five rail upgrades to support more than 39,000 new homes.
The Department for Transport say that people would also benefit from better access to jobs from this investment.
More information can be found on Housebuilder.
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Barratt Redrow home completions fell -7.8% during the year to June 2025, totalling 16,565.
In a trading update, the housebuilder said the fall was mainly due to receiving fewer international and investor completions than anticipated in its London businesses.
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Keepmoat’s profit has fallen by -35% to £54m last year, as it battled falling sales and a slow planning system.
Revenue for the firm also fell -12% to £764m for the year to October 2024.
Housing View 