Rhetoric; the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques. We now have a Prime Minister who is a master of this dark art.
Before he entered No 10 Boris Johnson was welcomed for his remarks that stamp duty needed reform. Indeed, there was enthusiasm within the property industry that he might actually reverse the changes made in 2014 by then Chancellor George Osborne which are widely regarded as having been detrimental.
I believe that the current Conservative Government has been good for housing, that it has actually put in place regulation that benefits tenants, buyers and sellers and that the industry is set to become more professional in terms of the way business is conducted and qualifications.
More new homes are being built, probably not yet enough to meet the headline target of 300,000 in England by the mid 2020s. But remember this is a target for England. Scotland has her own target and that is progressing well.
Planning issues are being addressed, although probably not fast enough for all, the private lettings sector is changing for the good and more affordable homes are now part of all developments.
But Brexit gets priority, after all there are less than 100 days to go until the deadline Boris has promised to meet. He says the aim it to reach a new deal, if not it is no deal. So the housing market is likely to remain in limbo, resilient but not much changed between now and the end of October.
There is a lot being said about no deal being a disaster but the truth is we just do not know. No nation has ever been in this position before. There is no doubt that Brexit has slowed the housing market, it is almost unimaginable where it would have been had the vote of June 2016 gone the other way.
But let’s not forget it is the Politians that are responsible. It was David Cameron who decided that there should be a referendum, Theresa May who went for a snap general election and lost a decent majority that would probably have got Brexit through Parliament. Now we have Boris Johnson who cannot be faulted for his enthusiasm.
We shall have to see. Meanwhile the property market ticks over. But I don’t think that is sustainable in the face of a no deal.
Ray Clancy
Editor Property Wire
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