Is 'joined-up thinking' on housing asking for the impossible?

Perhaps we are asking for the impossible here because the market is, without doubt, a political football which means those in power are loathe to give up their ability to garner votes by moving with the political winds and continuously helping some parts of the market while hitting others.

Over the past decade or so, that political wind has firmly blown in the direction of both new-build homes and first-time buyers – essentially trying to get the latter in the former and with schemes like Help to Buy, it could be said that there’s been some success in doing this.

However – and we suspect this is an unintended consequence but relevant nonetheless – this focus has essentially had a dampening and subdued impact on the second-hand property market. Homes that have not been built in the last 10 years are seen as less desirable and, indeed you might well argue, that for some first-timers if it’s not brand new, it’s not worth having.

This focus on new-blood and new-build means that we have some significant issues to resolve for those who are further up the ladder, not least the lack of supply of family homes for families to move into. This has clearly not been helped by our existing system of stamp duty which, quite frankly, is a basket case that does far more damage than good.

How else might you explain the large numbers of older homeowners who currently sit in properties far too big for their current needs, unable to move because of the cost of stamp duty to do so, and also because the homes they want to move into are either not being built, or work out as more expensive when you factor in those stamp duty costs?

There has been plenty written on this very subject – with a number of commentators calling for a stamp duty holiday or permanent cut for those older homeowners who are downsizing into smaller properties. Logistically this might initially be a bit tricky to put into place but it could be done and would undoubtedly help those who want to move down the ladder, but simply can’t afford to do so.

What we truly need from the Government is an approach which stimulates the entire market not just smaller, selective parts of it. And we need to have an end in sight to Brexit – one way or another. The current economic situation – low unemployment/strong demand/a slight growth in supply – would ordinarily mean the market would be on fire. But, clearly that’s not the case from a purchase perspective, and while we’re happy to continue to do large volumes of remortgage work, we must all appreciate the importance of purchasing.

Perhaps, it really is time to think the unthinkable? The market needs a revolution of sorts and why not start with stamp duty – which seems an anachronism in every sense – and replace it with CGT on the sale of a property? Treasury clearly fills its coffers with stamp duty money but it’s far more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to actually getting people moving. Which, after all, should be the whole point, shouldn’t it?

Clearly, Brexit trumps everything at the moment, but when we do eventually get the political discourse back on other issues, perhaps we can put in place a system which works for all and enables those who want to move, to be able to do so without the crippling costs that puts so many off?