8
May
Conservatives hold housing policy review
The Conservative Party is set to hold a review of its housing
policies today in an event chaired by Grant Shapps, the shadow
housing minister.
National Association of Estate Agents chief executive Peter Bolton
King, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Residential Property
Task Force chairman James Scott-Lee and the director general of the
Association of Home Information Pack Providers Mike Ockenden will
all be present.
The Conservatives have already expressed their opposition to home
information packs, so Mike Ockenden may be trying to persuade them
to change their mind.
Today's review could shape the party's future housing policies,
although some have already been announced, such as the abolition of
stamp duty for first-time buyers purchasing a property worth less
than £250,000.
According to figures from Halifax published in March, homebuyers in
29 per cent of local authorities have been left with stamp duty
bills equivalent to more than 20 per cent of average annual gross
earnings, a 15 per cent rise from five years ago.
