Mortgage liquidity 'needed to improve the market'
A Liberal Democrat proposal to place VAT on new-build property will do little to help the potential first-time buyers, according to an expert.
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has opposed the pledge unveiled in the party's manifesto earlier this month and suggested it is the worst possible time for such as measure.
According the FMB director of external affairs Brian Berry, with housing construction at its lowest level since 1946, a VAT increase may help that drop further.
He suggested that a tax measure on new-builds may be passed onto consumers and added that addressing mortgage liquidity could help more first-time buyers on to the ladder.
"Until people can secure the finance to actually buy a property, you are not going to see a radical change in the fortunes of the housing market and the building industry," he said.
These comments may deter many first-time buyers and encourage more people to looking for property to rent in the London borough of Hillingdon, or elsewhere in the UK, instead.
By Chris Price
Published 26th April, 2010
© 2010 Estates IT Limited
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More people may be encouraged to consider looking for property to rent in the London borough of Hillingdon, or elsewhere in the UK, after a building expert suggested the housing market would only recover when mortgage liquidity improves.