Autumn statement - what do brokers think?

Liz Truss was reckless and Jeremy Hunt was stale, but what we needed was someone as ambitious as Truss and as credible as Hunt, and maybe that's a new Labour government. What Truss did was knock confidence in our national finances and Hunt has had to stabilise this with a very boring, unambitious budget. Unfortunately, although this settles questions over our ability to pay our debts, it doesn't inspire growth. Stimulating the housing market doesn't mean keeping prices high, it means increasing transaction levels and the way you do this is by building more truly affordable homes. There was no 'main event' policy that was announced to do this. No only would this be good for those who want to own their first home, but it would massively stimulate the economy, keep to the Chancellor's fiscal rules about borrowing for investment and, over the long term, lead to a more equal society. The stamp duty announcements are a sticking plaster. The benefits will be lost by the worsening economy and downturn in the market. The tide is going out, and it's time to see who's swimming naked. It was good to see that in and out of work benefits will rise with inflation and that the time homeowners have to wait before they can seek help with their mortgage interest payments has been cut. This Conservative government is the most anti-business, anti-entrepreneurial that they have ever had in office. The huge tax burden they have forced on small businesses and the ever-increasing levy on normal working people's income is more akin to a badly administered socialist agenda. They have also made investing in the property market distinctly unattractive. First, Osbourne increased the stamp duty rates for owning a second property. Then he penalised higher rate taxpayers by refusing to allow them to offset costs against their rental income. Now, when you want to turn around your investments or leave the market they have decided to hit landlords again by reducing the capital gains tax threshold and keeping more of their profits for themselves. Through sheer ineptitude, this government will kill off many small businesses in the UK and put off would-be landlords who, in general, are good for housing stock and help people wanting to rent property. Look after the poorest, help normal working people, build more houses, stimulate growth and only tax the broadest shoulders not everyone.

1. Any situation where outgoings are increasing quicker than income is a real concern in the mortgage world. We have already seen some sharp reductions in what clients can borrow based on revised affordability checks, and if that is to worsen into 2023, then we will see some significant changes to activity. Product Transfers may become more popular, as borrowers may not be able to prove, under the new affordability rules, that they can afford the mortgage they already have, let alone additional borrowing. The popularity of alternative additional finance, such as secured loans, will become more popular as a result of this shift. 2. The good news is that we have a date for review of the stamp duty costs, not a short-term bunfight as before, creating a panic. I would read this as an opportunity to fairly adjust this cost once the impact of the recession and interest rates have flushed through the economy. But that is more than two years away. 3. The Capital Gains Tax allowance reduction is not ideal, especially for those selling Buy to Let and second homes. A potential additional cost of up to £2600, when you have landlords who are considering selling property, as interest rates are increasing, to then have a double-whammy of more tax on that sale, is not going to sit well with many. I would just consider how much some property has increased in value over the past few years. I am sure many properties will be sold with a handsome profit, even after extra taxation. 5. I think overall this was an 'Okay' Autumn Statement. CGT aside, there was little to spook the markets, so we should see fixed rates continue to creep down for the next few weeks or so. Base rate will continue to help bring inflation down, and the prediction of lower single-digit inflation in 2023 will bring some relief to us all.

The only thing that will have less energy than the Autumn Statement is Twitter's Christmas Party. It was plain, vanilla, and boring like a victoria sponge cake. Copying and pasting Kwasi's stamp duty concessions will do little to relight the fire of the property market. The only good thing about the budget is that it is over, it was costed and the markets did not crash. Hopefully lenders will take this as a positive and unleash some amazing Black Friday deals.