Govt housing announcements 'are very positive'
3rd Feb 2012
The latest announcement by the coalition about more land being made available for new homes to be built is great news for the industry, one sector body has noted.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has revealed that land for up to 80,000 new homes has been identified, while all buyers will now be eligible for the NewBuy Guarantee scheme as long as the property will be their main home.
Steve Turner, head of communications at the Home Builders Federation (HBF), said it is a "very sensible move" as there are many people who currently are not able to scale up their home as their personal circumstances have changed.
"So it is clearly very useful for those kinds of people as well as first-time buyers. It is a very positive move by the government. People being unable to get mortgages is the biggest constraint on house sales and so on house building," he added.
Mr Turner said the release of public land is a "major positive" as, after mortgage availability, a lack of viable and developable land is the next main constraint in the UK.
He noted that the government has recognised this and is working with the industry to identify land for developments, so overall it is a very positive move for the sector.
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