Philip Hammond unveils £5bn housebuilding stimulus package
Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a £5bn stimulus package for housebuilders, including a £3bn fund to help build 25,000 homes during this parliament.
The fund will give loans to small and medium sized housebuilders and those using innovative building methods such as offsite construction. It will also provide funding for infrastructure.
Read more: London has fallen out of the top three UK regions for house price growth
A further £2bn will be spent on using public land to encourage new developers to build at a faster rate than traditional housebuilders. This investment is expected to create 15,000 homes by the end of this parliament using surplus public land.
Hammond said: "There has been a housing shortage in this country for decades, and this government is determined to take action to tackle it.
"We'll use all the tools at our disposal to accelerate housebuilding and ensure that over time, housing becomes more affordable, that is why we are committing £2bn of additional investment towards this."
In his speech at the Conservative party conference, communities secretary Sajid Javid will say that addressing the housing shortfall is a "moral duty" and one "that falls on all of us".
House prices grew up 0.3 per cent in September, according to Nationwide's house price index, following a lull in house prices that came immediately after the Brexit vote.