After a busy couple of months, I’m sure landlords, agents and developers will be spending some well-earned time with loved ones this week.
There’s a sense of calm before the storm, as Barratt Homes said last week the company is gearing up for a busy time after Christmas, when people start making plans for 2020.
The New Year bounce could be even more pronounced this year, as it now seems odds on that we are going to leave the EU at the end of January – so the nation’s homebuyers have more certainty where the country is moving.
Let’s hope the government is able to negotiate a viable trade deal after leaving the EU, so we can move on without too many economic jitters.
When it comes to government policy, there’s plenty to reflect on over the break apart from Brexit.
The 30% first-time buyer discount pledge mentioned in the Queen’s Speech is an intriguing policy.
My question is where is this discount coming from?
It seems an odd policy akin to the Conservatives’ infamous ‘starter home’ policy in 2015, which promised to build 200,000 homes for young buyers at a 20% discount by 2020 but ended up delivering none.
Hopefully I’m wrong and it makes more sense once we find out more about it.
I’m also not a big fan of the long-term fixed rate mortgage policy, though it has received backing from a Centre for Policies Studies report.
It will also be interesting to follow the impact of abolishing Section 21 evictions.
It seems like a logical move to give families more security, but the government needs to be careful that landlords are able to evict tenants who don’t pay the rent or respect their home.
Finally, I agree with Louie Burns of The Leasehold Solutions Group that it’s about time the government changed talk about leasehold reform into action.
Anyway, after reflecting on government policy once again it’s probably a good time to switch off for a couple of weeks and talk about something else!
All of us at PropertyWire wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
See you in January.
Ryan Bembridge
Editor
PropertyWire
