A webinar poll conducted by Countrywide Surveying Services (CSS) has found that property professionals have confidence in the first-time buyer market, but are sceptical of government commitments to housebuilding and reform.
CSS polled around 250 webinar participants – including brokers, lenders, developers and surveyors – to gauge industry views on the state of the property market. The survey took place as part of a panel discussion with senior industry leaders, hosted by CSS managing director Matthew Cumber (pictured).
Half of the respondents (50%) said they were most confident about first-time buyers in relation to a healthy market, followed by newbuild at 18%, later life lending at 13%, buy-to-let at 3%, and foreign national and expat lending at just 2%. However, 14% of respondents selected ‘none’ – which CSS says signals some uncertainty within specific lending segments.
The audience expressed strong scepticism around government commitments to affordable housing and newbuild delivery. When asked whether they believed the government would hit its targets in these areas in 2025, 74% of respondents said no, leaving only a quarter believing they would.
When asked about the general landscape of the UK housing and mortgage market, just over half of the respondents (54%) expressed confidence in the year ahead, while 37% said they were neither confident nor not confident. Only 9% said they were not confident.
The session also explored the most pressing issues that need to be addressed to support housing and mortgage market growth this year. Affordability emerged as the most critical concern, cited by 38% of participants. A further 30% said that continuing to reduce interest rates was the most important factor, while 11% pointed to the need for a Help to Buy replacement.
Other priorities included stamp duty reform and more support for landlords, each identified by 9% of respondents, with 3% highlighting the importance of boosting later life lending.
Cumber said of the results:
“These insights paint a picture of a market that is still navigating economic pressures and grappling with fundamental issues but is starting to see signs of stabilisation and resilience. It’s encouraging to see such strong confidence emerging towards first-time buyers and new build, but the message from the industry is clear in that affordability and housing supply must be prioritised if we want to see sustainable growth.”
