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What the government's National Housing Bank could mean for the property market

Journalist: Marc Shoffman, Freelance

ended 18. June 2025

Hello,

I am writing a piece for MoneyWeek looking at the Government's new National Housing Bank.

The government said the body will help fund housebuilders to build 500,000 new homes,

I am looking for property commentators/mortgage brokers to comment on how this will help the housing market? 
What could it mean for supply/house prices?

Is it good to have the state supporting loans for housebuilders?

Kind regards

Marc

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Rob Peters
Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage
The idea of a National Housing Bank is promising, especially if it genuinely unlocks funding for SME and regional housebuilders who often struggle with access to finance. Supporting supply at scale could gradually ease price pressures, particularly in areas that are chronically undersupplied. But as always, the key question is execution. We’ve seen many idealistic government-backed housing initiatives stall due to red tape, planning logjams and bureaucratic delivery. If this becomes another headline-grabbing scheme that doesn’t get bricks in the ground quickly, it won’t move the needle.
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Harry Goodliffe
Director at HTG Mortgages
On paper, a National Housing Bank sounds like a smart move, tackling the supply issue at its root by helping builders get projects off the ground. If it works, it could ease the pressure on prices and offer buyers more choice, which we desperately need. But the devil’s in the delivery. We've had a lot of big promises on housebuilding that haven’t materialised. The government backing loans could be a good thing if it genuinely unlocks stalled sites and boosts SME developers, not just the big names. It's a step in the right direction, but let’s see if it’s more than just another headline.
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Harps Garcha
Director at Brooklyns Financial
The initiative is promising in principle, but its success hinges on the time required for implementation, considering potential bureaucratic hurdles. Do we have the necessary resources, including skilled labour and materials? Additionally, it is crucial to ensure buyers have incentives to invest in new build properties. All these factors must be addressed to ensure the National Housing Bank initiative is successful.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
Increasing the supply of property has been a conundrum for the past 20 years or so, with no year reaching more than 250k since 2004, so whilst the new approach is commended, in reality is this really going to happen? Any increase in housing stock will help throttle prices where demand outstrips supply significantly, allowing developers to finish mothballed sites with cheap finance. The winners? Homebuilders probably, helping fuel increased profits in the same way as Help to Buy improved sales numbers over the past 15 years. But with a shortage of trained and skilled trades, much of this seems more fantasy than fantastic.
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Tony Redondo
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
If we give the idea the benefit of the doubt, the NHB could transform the housing market by boosting supply, particularly for SMEs and affordable homes, potentially easing price pressures if targeted effectively. I fear in reality, it risks inflating prices, crowding out private investment, and entrenching large builders’ dominance while putting yet more taxpayers’ funds at risk. What’s needed are demand-side reforms that tackle affordability. This state support supply-side idea means well, but must be tightly focused to avoid subsidizing profits or unviable projects. The NHB’s success hinges on execution and broader reforms.
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Pete Mugleston
Mortgage Advisor & Managing Director at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk
This is a good idea in principle, the key part is whether this proposal comes to fruition. If it did, this could release funding for regional and SME housebuilders, which would be a boon for the housing market. It's just whether this idea can be executed that is the important part here. If done correctly, a National Housing Bank could go some way to increase supply and ease housing pressures, as well as help the government meet its 1.5 million new homes target by 2029. Hopefully, it's more than another headline-grabbing act, but the proof will be in the pudding.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
Ah, the National Housing Bank, Whitehall’s latest quango, promising to conjure 500,000 homes from, presumably, thin air and taxpayer largesse. How will this state-backed lender "help" the market? Well, it might keep some big housebuilders’ order books looking plump, possibly nudging supply if (and it's a colossal 'if') it miraculously tackles land banking or the planning quagmire. As for prices, don't expect miracles. State-subsidised lending often just inflates asset values. Is it "good" for the state to underwrite developers? Only if you believe government makes a better venture capitalist than the free market, a notion with a rather patchy track record. Do you know what will really help us small developers? Get the government to slash stamp duty, deregulate planning to unleash SME builders (not just feed the giants), and let capital flow where genuine demand is, instead of state diktats. Otherwise, we're just funding a more expensive version of the same supply constipation.