Britain’s Construction Industry has been through the pain of the house market slump but although no significant pick-up in the wider housing market is anticipated, there is hope for the new build market.
Housebuilders are placed to benefit from Government initiative to boost building of new homes and help first-time buyers. The aim is to encourage lenders to reduce deposits required from the buyer, marking a return to the days of 95% loan-to-value mortgages.
The Government envisages this scheme helping 100,000 buyers, roughly equivalent to the total amount of private new homes sold in a year. Unsurprisingly, the construction industry has welcomed the plans, although it says the devil will be in the detail and is waiting for more information on how costs are shared. But the hope is that it could mean homebuilders outperform the wider stock market in 2012.