The Conservative Party conference kicked off with news that the government plans to earmark an additional £10 billion for the Help to Buy scheme to support 135,000 home buyers.
Theresa May’s extension to David Cameron’s flagship housing policy, which has helped over 320,000 buyers since its launch in 2013, is part of a raft of eye-catching measures to win over voters under 45 who deserted the Conservatives in the last election.
With house prices now almost eight times the average income and many struggling to afford a home, housing has become a critical political issue. The increase in cash is a clear attempt to appeal to the young hoping to get on the housing ladder.
But is this short-term measure enough to fix the broken housing market?
Last week we heard we heard a series of more radical measures on housing from Jeremy Corbyn including rent controls, tax on undeveloped land held by developers and use of compulsory purchase powers.
By lurching back to housing policies that belong in the last century, Labour has left the centre ground wide open.
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