Property market experts issue stark warning to Labour over housing plan

Property market experts have warned the new Labour government’s targets will mean the equivalent of building a new housing estate every day for five years.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed plans to support the construction of 1.5 million homes over the next Parliament.

The chief executive of Propertymark, Nathan Emerson, welcomed the plan to deliver more affordable homes, but he warned the massive construction required careful planning.

“It’s crucial there is transparency on how they intend to meet their ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes by the end of its term in government, which in reality would mean having a large housing estate built every day before the next general election,” he said.

“Whilst we support more homes being constructed, there needs to be careful consideration on background infrastructure to ensure we are making the best use of available land, ideally prioritising a brownfield-first approach.”

Mortgage brokers were underwhelmed by the Chancellor’s announcements, suggesting they were long on rhetoric but short on meaningful action.

Craig Fish, Director at Lodestone Mortgages & Protection: "Rachel Reeves gave us a fantastic lesson on how to say lots and nothing at the same time.

“The only good thing to come out of this non-committal speech that lacked substance was that she said nothing to upset the markets. Not upsetting the markets is no easy task, so overall this may actually be a good start."

Hannah Bashford, Director at Model Financial Solutions, told Newspage: "I was totally underwhelmed by the first speech from our new Chancellor, but three days into the job we can’t expect fireworks.”

Rohit Kohli, Director at The Mortgage Stop: "This was the first opportunity after a long election campaign for Labour to share its vision on how to tackle probably one of the biggest issues in the UK, namely housing.

“However the Chancellor continued the campaign trend of saying very little, detailing no plans and just pushing everything to “later”. I thought Labour wanted change now."

Simon Bridgland, Director at Release Freedom, said: "The Chancellor's initial speech lacked any detail about how she would really change anything.

“At times, she looked slightly panicked, very quickly batting questions away without any substance in her answers. This was reminiscent of the campaign trail answers given by the now PM, namely nothing to say.”

Daniel Hobbs, CEO at New Leaf Distribution, said: "It's good that the pledges from the manifesto are being followed through on.

“We categorically need to sort out the planning system and lack of housing but we also need to do more to help tenants get onto the ladder.

“What we don't want is housebuilders getting a free hand to build wherever they want and then selling to investors, marginalising renters futher.”

Bob Singh, Founder at Chess Mortgages: "In her maiden speech, Rachel Reeves has come out guns blazing to get “Britain building again” and has set out the blueprint for the next five years.

“But with likely opposition from NIMBYS and planning departments, her task is not an enviable one.

“Until we see the full plans and all government departments are singing from the same hymn sheet, this could be a firework that just fizzles out. Interestingly, there were no real mention of how the growth plans will be funded but I expect that to be covered in her first Budget."