Dr Dean Garratt discusses The Autumn Statement

Dr Dean Garratt discusses housing in response to The Autumn Statement.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered the Autumn Statement yesterday. In response to the announcements, The Conversation website collated a number of responses from academics from a number of universities in regards to different aspects of the Statement. From the Department of Economics, Principal Teaching Fellow Dr Dean Garratt offered his expert opinion on housing.

"The Autumn Statement reaffirmed the government’s wish to see new build play a central role in easing pressures on the housing market. Over the past 40 years or more, UK house prices have been characterised by considerable volatility and by an average rate of growth of 4 or 5 percentage points above the rate of consumer price inflation.

The economics point to supply-side problems that mean demand pressures feed directly into prices. The commitment to build has now seen the announcement of a new garden city near Bicester in Oxfordshire and £100m pledged to the Ebbsfleet Garden City project.

An interesting development is the willingness of government to countenance being more actively involved in house building. It signals, at least on paper, that the government is prepare to think more broadly about the way in which it works with the private sector in helping to deliver new homes.

While this may be sensible economics, the politics of delivering on new homes is considerably more difficult since the prospect of new developments naturally raises considerable local concerns."

Read the full article "Chancellor’s Autumn Statement: the experts respond"