Labour's expansion of the home guarantee scheme for first‑time buyers has been criticised by experts as likely to push property prices higher. From October, the government will remove the cap of 50,000 places and widen eligibility, including higher property price caps and no income limits.
Cameron Kusher, an independent property expert, said the move was 'only going to drive prices higher and increase competition'. He questioned Treasury's analysis that the policy would add just 0.5% to home prices over six years, warning that previous demand‑side stimulus had led to substantial rises.
Brendan Coates of the Grattan Institute called it a 'backwards step', arguing that most low‑income buyers were already eligible and the expansion would assist those who would have bought anyway. He said the policy risked worsening affordability and distracted from the failure to build enough homes.
Peter Tulip of the Centre for Independent Studies warned of a 'one‑way bet' encouraging reckless borrowing, making housing bubbles more likely. He noted that while Labour had a target of 1.2m new homes by 2029, the government was expected to fall 262,000 homes short.
