Housing market dominates industry budget reaction

27th April | budget | Chancellor Alistair Darling should have done more to put life back into the housing market in last week’s Budget, according to a Furnishing Report survey of the UK furniture and flooring industry.

Asked what measures Darling should have introduced, survey respondents put action on stamp duty and borrowing as the number one priorities to support the furniture sector.

Some called for stamp duty to be scrapped altogether for people buying new build properties, while others wanted the threshold to be raised to £300,000. Helping consumers tied into fixed rate mortgages was another popular response.

As interest rates have fallen in recent months, variable rate mortgage holders have seen repayments tumble, but those on fixed rates are still having to fork out large sums of cash – money some in the industry believe would be spent on big-ticket furniture if Government support were available.

Other respondents said the fact that order books were at their slimmest for years was a good opportunity for redundant workers to be given increased training, particularly in the area of furniture manufacturing.

The continuation of the 15% VAT rate till December prompted concerns that any change pre-Christmas would load an additional administrative burden on retailers at what they hoped would be a busy time, while the balance of respondents praised the chancellor’s move to provide a top up scheme for trade credit insurance.