Developers are bringing fewer new build housing schemes to market than at any point since January 2017, according to analysis by property portal Rightmove. The fall contradicts the Government's pledge to build 1.5 million homes during this Parliament. The overall number of homes for sale—new and second-hand combined—has soared by 85% in four years, but campaigners warn this masks a chronic shortage of genuinely affordable homes in desirable locations.
Rightmove's Rescue Plan for First-Time Buyers
Rightmove is demanding urgent action from the Chancellor in the Autumn Budget, warning ministers will miss their housebuilding target unless they act now. The portal's rescue plan includes scrapping stamp duty entirely for first-time buyers on both new build and resale homes, pumping more money into affordable housing to ease strain on developers, and introducing targeted support to help first-time buyers get on the ladder.
Political Context: Andy Burnham's Property Tax Ambitions
The intervention comes at a politically charged moment, with Andy Burnham on the verge of becoming Prime Minister. Burnham has long signalled radical designs on the property tax system. He is understood to be examining a proposal to scrap both stamp duty and council tax in favour of a single annual property tax, championed by the campaign group Fairer Share. Under that blueprint, homeowners would pay an annual charge equivalent to roughly 0.48% of their property's value—meaning a £300,000 home would face a bill of around £1,440 a year, with steeper rates mooted for second homes and properties owned by overseas buyers.
Critics Warn of Postcode Lottery
Critics fear the shake-up would create a postcode lottery, with homeowners in the North paying significantly less than under the current system, while those in London and the South East could face far bigger bills. Burnham has previously championed a land value tax, arguing it would penalise those 'sitting on' land and hoarding it, with proceeds redistributed.
Economists Back Flat 1% Property Tax
A group of respected economists, including a former Goldman Sachs chief economist who advises Burnham, has also written to him urging that stamp duty and council tax be scrapped in favour of a flat 1% annual property value tax, doing away with what they call the 'absurdity' of modest terraced homes paying proportionally more tax than mansions. The proposal has drawn fire from the Tories, with shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly branding it a 'garden tax' straight out of the 'Corbyn playbook'. No formal blueprint has been published, and Government insiders stress the ideas remain under review.
Industry Voices: Developers and Experts React
Steve Mariner, Group Sales & Marketing Director at housebuilding giant Barratt Redrow, said ministers had made welcome progress freeing up land for development but warned red tape was choking off supply. 'Increasing regulatory costs are holding new homes back, while low customer confidence, higher borrowing costs and wider economic uncertainty are all making it harder for first-time buyers to get onto the housing ladder,' he said. He called for a joint scheme between developers and the Treasury to help buyers, adding: 'For the first time in decades there is no government support to help people in England buy their first home, right when it's needed most.'
Alex Slater, Rightmove's Director of New Homes, said first-time buyers were the bedrock of the entire market but were increasingly being locked out. Colleen Babcock, the portal's property expert, said Britain still lacked enough affordable homes in the right locations 'to support people at every stage of the moving journey, from first-time buyers to downsizers.'
