Samar Shaheryar “UKREiiF showed the appetite for investment – if we get housing moving.”

Reflecting on UKREiiF a couple of weeks later, what a brilliant few days of conversations for Samar Shaheryar, Co-CEO of Spring. Across the event, one thing was clear: the appetite to invest in UK real estate is still there. The conversations were wide-ranging: from housing delivery and regeneration to planning reform, infrastructure and the broader investment climate in UK PLC. But many came back to the same question: how do we turn ambition, which clearly isn’t lacking, into delivery?

There were encouraging signs. Government is talking a good game on tackling the barriers facing the housing and property sector, and there was a welcome seriousness in the way business concerns were being heard by Ministers. But the mood was also realistic. Investors are interested in the UK, but confidence remains fragile. Funding is taking longer to secure, teams are stretched, and the economics of development remain difficult as capital, construction and operating costs continue to weigh on deals.

That’s why one issue deserves more attention than it received in Leeds: housing market liquidity. Planning reform matters, but it will not be enough on its own. If we want to tackle the housing crisis, we also need to help more people move, reduce failed transactions and make better use of the homes we already have.

Spring’s campaign – Get Housing Moving - is focused on exactly that. While there is no silver bullet, property traders provide critical solutions by injecting speed and certainty into the market, mainly by buying homes quickly. This helps prevent stalled chains and returning decent properties to the market. Yet, the current stamp duty (SDLT) regime - particularly higher rates for additional dwellings (HRAD) - can penalise traders like Spring even though they do not hold homes as long-term investments. This policy misalignment results in fewer sales, fewer moves, and barriers to businesses and a sector that by its nature supports market liquidity – seen as an inherent good in most markets.

That is why we are calling for targeted SDLT reform to boost residential property traders - a practical, proportionate step to make the whole housing market move better. Modelling by Volterra commissioned by Spring suggests reform could increase housing transactions by 14% and release 23,800 under-occupied homes per year. More than this, it would also deliver net fiscal gains for the Exchequer - generating up to £1.1 billion in additional tax receipts per year with a full exemption. This is a true win-win.

Building new homes is critical, but the next phase of the housing debate also needs to be about helping people move into the right homes at the right time.

At Spring – whether in Leeds, Westminster or beyond - we’ll keep banging that drum.

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