New research commissioned by bridging finance provider Market Financial Solutions (MFS) has outlined the growing concern over the UK’s housing crisis, with more than half of Brits considering it to be one of the biggest issues even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing Brexit uncertainty.
The MFS survey – conducted across an independent, nationally-representative survey of 2,000 UK adults – found that 51% of Brits consider the housing crisis to be one of the main issues facing the UK, with 62% asserting that housing policy has been “neglected” by successive governments.
Concerningly, only 17% of Brits know who the UK Minister for Housing is. For the sake of clarity, Conservative MP Robert Jenrick currently holds that position.
Earlier this year, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a stamp duty holiday for properties valued at less than £500k as part of his July “mini budget” to boost the UK economy. Analysis by Zoopla predicted that consumers could save up to £1.3 billion in stamp duty payments, with savings of up to £14,999 for first time buyers.
However, new figures from Rightmove have pointed to another housing market dip on the horizon, as sellers rush ahead of the stamp duty holiday deadline in the spring.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, commented on Monday:
“Given the ongoing mini-boom, prices might have been expected to rise again this month.
“But instead we have a slight dip, which could be a result of some new sellers pricing more realistically to have a better chance of agreeing a sale in time to benefit from the stamp duty savings on their onward purchase”.
Nevertheless, the MFS survey found that 49% of Brits are currently “satisfied” with Sunak’s Covid-19 support and stimulus packages so far.
Paresh Raja, CEO of MFS, insisted that the government still needs to do more to address the mounting problems in the housing market, stating:
“Over the coming months, the government must focus on the housing crisis. However, it is also up to those involved in the property market – lenders, estate agencies and brokers – to ensure they are doing everything in their power to help prospective homebuyers”.