"The property industry will have been calling out for updates on the stamp duty holiday, but will be pleased to see a funding announcement on how the government intends to rectify the UK’s housing shortage."
Sunak revealed the Fund in today's Spending Review, as part of a new 'national infrastructure strategy'.
Sunak said: “To help finance our plans, I can announce we will establish a new UK infrastructure bank.
“Headquartered in the north of England, the bank will work with the private sector to finance major new investment projects across the UK, starting this spring.”
Bryan Mansell, co-founder of proptech platform Gazeal, commented: “The Chancellor's Spending Review inevitably focused on funding for public services in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The property industry will have been calling out for updates on the stamp duty holiday, but will be pleased to see a funding announcement on how the government intends to rectify the UK’s housing shortage.
“Last year, the government announced a target of building a million new homes over the next five years and pledged to increase housebuilding levels to an average of 300,000 new build homes per year by the mid-2020s.
“Of course, the impact of the pandemic will make it harder for these ambitions to be achieved. It is therefore pleasing to see a pledge of £20 billion to support new housing from 2020-21, including the introduction of a £7.1 billion National Home Building Fund.
“The housing shortage is not going anywhere, so hopefully the government’s new strategies will help towards funding new homes for the next generation of property buyers.
“The industry will now look ahead to next year's Budget for the announcement of further property market measures, which could include changes to stamp duty and a proposed doubling of Capital Gains Tax."
