Rightmove has set some of the key priorities the next government should tackle, which includes boosting housebuilding, lifting first-time buyer support, stamp duty reform and greater green incentives.
The priorities were based on views from Rightmove experts and agents, and research among over 14,000 homeowners and renters.
Top of the list was a reform of the stamp duty system. If a new stamp duty system took into account regional property prices or helped encourage more people to downsize, it could help movement in the market.
Data from Rightmove shows that in London, only 4% of homes for sale are exempt from the current stamp duty charges for all buyers, compared to 71% in the North East.
The second most requested change from homeowners is to simplify and speed up the homebuying process.
It is currently taking over seven months from when someone puts their home up for sale until they move.
The acceleration of house building and long-term solutions to help affordability is also an area that has been listed as a priority for the new government.
Data shows that the undersupply of housing in the UK has contributed to ever-increasing house prices and rents, with national average asking prices of homes now 22% higher than five years ago, at £375,131.
National advertised rents up by 40%, at £1,479 per calendar month.
Over the past five years, the gap between supply and demand has widened. Since April 2019, buyer demand has risen by 15%, while supply has decreased by 6%.
In the rental market, demand has increased by 32%, with supply reducing by 38%.
Rightmove says if the delivery of new homes can be accelerated, while still maintaining quality levels, it could help more people wanting to move to their next home or to get on to the property ladder.
In the rental market, the build-to-rent sector has helped to bring in a proportion of new developments, however, there is still nowhere near enough stock to meet demand.
Building more homes is the fourth highest priority among renters when asked what they want to see from the next government.
Green incentives are the third most requested change of the next government from home-owners. For renters, the desire for legislation to come in for landlords to upgrade homes came in their top five.
Meanwhile, green incentives were the third most requested change of the next government from homeowners.
For renters, the desire for legislation to come in for landlords to upgrade homes came in their top five.
The focus on helping people make their homes greener has fallen off the government’s agenda in recent years.
A proposed deadline for landlords to improve homes up to an energy performance certificate rating of C was scrapped. Rightmove says it’s clear that there is a lack of awareness among home-owners about what changes they should make and why.
Rightmove insight shows a decline in the number of landlords planning to make energy-efficiency upgrades to properties with lower EPC ratings.
In 2022, over a third (36%) of landlords said they planned to make improvements to properties rated below a C. In late 2023, after the government had announced they were scrapping targets, this dropped to 26%.
Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister says: “At the very least, the next government should make the current changes to FTB stamp duty charges in England permanent, as the higher thresholds introduced in 2022 are due to expire next year.”
“But there’s also a bigger opportunity to reform stamp duty to encourage more movement up and down the property ladder. With such regional variations in property prices, increasing stamp duty thresholds in line with these regional variations would seem a logical first step for stamp duty reform.”
Rightmove’s mortgages expert Matt Smith adds: “There’s an opportunity to unlock greater affordability in a responsible way, which could help more first-time buyers get on the ladder.
“FTBs are already taking out longer mortgage terms and lender innovation has included the introduction of longer-term fixed rates that are likely to be part of the solution as they help by ensuring certainty of payments.”
“Various mortgage schemes have played their part and supported a number of people, and we know from our study that people would like to see new schemes introduced, but we think longer-term solutions would be more effective than short-term schemes.”
“Either way, it’s most likely that regulatory change is needed, so it’s critical that the government works with regulators and lenders from day one on any mortgage solutions, to ensure buy-in and take up, which will in turn create more options for FTBs.”
