Oxfordshire housebuilder Pye Homes has welcomed a number of housing policies and initiatives announced by the three main UK political parties in the build-up to the General Election – but says more needs to be done to stabilise mortgage rates and encourage people to choose energy-efficient homes.

Managing Director, Graham Flint, commented: “We welcome the announcement by the Conservatives of a Help to Buy Scheme, and a similar ‘Freedom to Buy’ initiative by Labour; more help is drastically needed to help first-time buyers get their feet on the property ladder, and such initiatives, coupled with the Conservative pledge to increased the Stamp Duty threshold for first time buyers to £425,000, will go a long way to doing that.

“We are also pleased to hear the Liberal Democrats and Labour both pledging to reform planning outcomes to address the shortfall in the number of new homes being built.

“However, successive governments have known that too few homes are being built, and have subsequently set annual targets that are almost impossible to achieve. If we are to ever hit these targets and solve the UK’s housing shortage, the next government needs to work with housebuilders such as Pye Homes and listen to the industry.”

Pye Homes recently drew up its own ‘Election Wishlist’ which it would like to see introduced or amended, to give the property sector a much-needed boost and to support people who would like to move home.

These include:

• Reinvigorate the first-time buyer market with a new scheme

• extend the stamp duty tax relief to encourage more people to move

• Reform the planning system to allow developers to deliver the much-needed housing targets

• Offer incentives for people choosing to buy energy-efficient homes – e.g. grants, additional tax relief, etc

• Provide a scheme to offer stability for mortgage rates