Winter Sussex Property Market Update

Posted 17 November 2016 by Neil Moore

So what’s happening with the property market at the moment? Well, it seems a day does not go past when someone in the Government is not talking about the ‘dysfunctional housing market’.

 

Our Prime Minister wants to use the power of the Government to repair this. Theresa May has identified high housing costs as one of the key factors for preventing social mobility and a shortage of affordable homes as a structural economic problem.

 

Housing is firmly on the top of the Government’s agenda and there is a clear will to use investment of public sector land to help address the public sector short fall. Measures include a £3 billion home building fund; part of this will include short term loans to SME’s and custom builders. There will also be further funding for much needed supporting infrastructures with an emphasis on brownfield land.  A further £2 billion is being added to the accelerated construction fund, designed to deliver faster supply of housing in the public sector.  

 

Another fund is proposed to buy unsold housing stock, removing some of the development risk so as to deliver houses faster with a contribution to the infrastructure. It is very possible this fund will never be required or used as demand at the moment continues to outstrip supply.

 

It is still to soon to assess the full impact of Brexit on the economy or the housing market. However, the uncertainty of this is dampening consumer confidence which may have an impact on transaction levels. Therefore the measures the Government are currently undertaking may make a difference and maintain housing delivery.

 

That said, only 171,000 new homes were built to March 2015. Although this may have increased this year to nearer 200,000, it is still considerably lower than the government target of 300,000. This demonstrates there is much to be done so let us all hope Theresa May and her team can deliver what they are promising!

 

If you are considering moving or indeed investing in property and wondering if now is the right time to do so, please contact me. I would be very happy to have a chat with you about the current property market and share my experience of the market built over the last two plus decades in the local area to help you make a decision. You can email me at neilmoore@glproperty.co.uk or call me using 01903 742354.

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