Andy Sommerville, director of Search Acumen [1], comments:
“After his first and last Autumn Statement, the property market will be cautiously toasting the Chancellor’s opening bid to tackle the housing crisis with the £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund and the pledge that £3.15bn will be sent straight to the Capital to create 90,000 affordable homes.
“However, the reality is that such investment is modest in the context of the groaning gap between supply and demand. The Chancellor said himself that ‘for too many the goal of home ownership remains out of reach’ and we must await the housing white paper for further clarity on how this ambition is to be truly revived.
“On a broader scale, it is encouraging to hear the Government’s attempts to shrink the significant UK productivity gap. Our productivity lags behind the US and Germany by around 30 percentage points and the investment committed to infrastructure and innovation should help bring productivity to the forefront of business planning as we enter the new year. Ultimately, greater productivity will link back to more efficient workflow and subsequently a healthier housing market for consumers. However, we must ensure that all this promised investment is targeted in areas which need it most and is used in the best way possible by businesses.”