Budget’s property focus

Rics was particularly pleased about the reform of stamp duty and Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) to help encourage residential development.

“These changes should bring new money into the housebuilding sector from institutional investors such as pension funds and boost quality in the private rented sector,” it said in a post-Budget statement.

The introduction of a buy-now-pay-later scheme for public land should boost housebuilding.

But it was critical about Enterprise Zones which it said had a mixed record and could create further economic problems. “They can transfer problems from one area to another and often require significant extra funding through support for infrastructure development,” it said.

Changes to the Use Classes Order also needed to be considered carefully to ensure that an adequate supply of commercial property was available to support growing businesses as the economy recovered. The effectiveness of land auctions as a tool to boost development was questionable and it remained to be seen whether this would bring more land forward.