What was the outcome of the Budget?

The Budget introduced a range of measures designed to boost the housing market and improve the supply of new homes in the UK. Here’s our rundown of the changes announced.New homesHundreds of thousands of new homes will be built over the next few years, the Chancellor said. He pledged that by the mid-2020s, the construction of new homes would increase to 300,000 a year on average. Last year, just over 217,000 new homes were built. He announced £44 billion of capital funding, loans and guarantees over the next five years to boost the UK housebuilding industry, including funds to buy more land, and money for infrastructure.Creation of new garden towns
The Chancellor announced plans to build five new garden towns in the UK, in areas where there is high demand for housing. He has not yet confirmed the location of these towns. They will be funded by a combination of private and public investment.Stamp dutyWith immediate effect first time buyers will no longer have to pay stamp duty when buying a home costing up to £300,000. If purchasing a property costing up to £500,000, stamp duty won’t be payable on the first £300,000. There is no stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers purchasing properties costing more than £500,000. Find out more about the first-time buyer stamp duty cut here
Longer tenanciesThe Chancellor announced a consultation on barriers to longer-term tenancies. It will look at how landlords can be encouraged to offer them, including through the introduction of possible tax breaks.Review of planning permissionsThe government will set up a review of planning permissions, in light of the gap between the number of permissions granted and the number of properties being built. The results of the review will be reported in the Spring Statement in 2018.More money for Help to BuyAn extra £10 billion will be put towards the Help to Buy equity loan scheme to help first-time buyers with limited deposits. Under the scheme, those with a deposit of 5% to put down can receive a loan from the government for 20% of the property price, or 40% if buying in London. The government loan is interest-free for the first five years. After that there is an annual charge of 1.75% which rises every year by the rate of inflation, plus another 1%. The loan must be repaid either when the property is sold, or when the mortgage is paid off.