Within just two weeks, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver the Spring 2024 budget on 6th March, with this likely to be the last chance for the Conservative Party to try and cut the deficit between themselves and Labour.
Many believe that further tax cuts will be included in next year’s Budget, but will there be anything of note to assist the housing market?
December’s inflation figure of 3.9% was a larger than expected fall and although it is still nearly double the Government’s target of 2%, this fuelled a lot of speculation on an interest rate cut in Q1 of 2024. We have already seen the majority of the UK’s banks and building societies, slashing their mortgage rates.
There are rumours of additional help for first time buyers and the reintroduction of Help to Buy, as well as abolishing Inheritance Tax. With First time buyers incentivised to buy, we would hope that this will ease the demand for rental properties, which have seen a double digit increase over the past 12 months. Could there be an incentive to attract buy to let investors back into the market, which would also help raise the level of available letting stock?
The above are opinions taken from various articles and social media. What is clear is that after 15 months of a stagnant and challenging housing market, there is widespread hope and anticipation that this next Budget will include a handful of meaningful incentives to reenergise the housing market. It will not be long now until we find out!