“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has missed an opportunity to support the housebuilding industry through a new equity loan scheme.
“The Government is holding up the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme as its flagship policy to support first-time buyers, but the numbers tell a different story. Since launching four years ago, the Scheme has accounted for just 1% of all new mortgages.
“The downturn in the new homes sales market is the single biggest issue for SME housebuilders at the minute and it’s preventing them from being able to scale up their output. We’ve seen volume housebuilders take matters into their own hands by launching their own versions of equity loan schemes. Unfortunately, this isn’t an option for SMEs who don’t have that kind of financial firepower. SMEs have always been at a competitive disadvantage to the PLCs and the gap between them is only going to grow wider at this rate. Without targeted intervention, we risk losing the very businesses that are building the high-quality homes that the country desperately needs.”
