Measures To Help

New Homes Marketing Board (NHMB) suggested measures to help first-time buyers:

1. The Government, as one of the nation's largest landowners and largest supplier of land to housebuilders, should rapidly increase the rate at which it sells its redundant land suitable for residential development.

2. At the same time, particularly in areas of housing need, the Government should accept land prices significantly below market value when disposing of its redundant land to housebuilders - but receiving, in return, significantly lower selling prices to first time buyers and key workers. Land sold at half price, for example, could reduce a typical South East first time buyer home from £200,000 to £170,000. Restrictive covenants would ensure these properties remained affordable and available for future buyers at a discount, in perpetuity.

3. Identifying small sites in every rural town and village specifically for new homes for local first-time buyers. Small sites for around 25 starter homes in 1,000 rural towns and villages could enable 25,000 affordable new homes beyond the larger towns and cities, without placing additional burdens on local infrastructure - while giving a welcome economic boost to struggling local communities.

4. Strengthening protection for core Green Belt areas but releasing many of the smaller, scruffy, unused fringe areas of Green Belt which have little merit other than as potential building land. While most of Britain's housing need can still be met by regenerating brownfield land, building affordable homes for first time buyers within commuting distance of larger towns and cities will require the release of some greenfield sites.

5. 'Fast track' priority to be given to first time buyer and affordable housing applications, especially those on urban and rural brownfield land, with a determination limit of 12 weeks. Currently, such applications receive no priority within the system and often take more than 12 months to gain approval.

6. To help break the existing logjam, an immediate short-term 'amnesty' for minor and small-scale domestic planning applications, which currently account for around 50 per cent of applications and appeals clogging the system. This would free up planners to concentrate on higher priority housing schemes. A similar proposal in the recent planning White Paper, while welcome, is not due to come into force until 2009 - which is not soon enough.

7. Housebuilders to give genuine marketing priority (during first eight weeks of sales programme) to first-time buyers to prevent too many lower-cost homes being snapped-up by investors.

8. Scrapping of Stamp Duty for first time buyers, because it currently penalises far too many of them. In London, for example, typical first time buyers are now paying £7,500 in Duty because it is currently levied on properties of £125,000 and over. If Stamp Duty had kept in line with house price inflation, that threshold should today be £210,000.

And once there is clear evidence of an increase in housing supply:

9. For first time buyers only, the re-introduction of mortgage tax relief for a minimum of three years.

10. Tax relief on contributions made by parents helping their children buy a first home.