Increasing the supply of new homes won’t make homeownership more affordable by itself – we need new kinds of mortgages too, says James Browne

The government’s planning reforms that aim to increase the housing stock by 1.5m homes by the end of the parliament are a welcome step towards addressing Britain’s housing crisis. But supply alone won’t make homeownership more affordable. Most first-time buyers rely on mortgage finance to purchase their homes, so improving affordability must go hand in hand with expanding access to lending. Without it, new homes risk being bought by landlords or wealthier second homeowners rather than those trying to get on the housing ladder.

It’s encouraging, then, that the government is beginning to address this with reforms to the mortgage market. Two measures that Tony Blair Institute has been calling for have recently been announced which could make a real difference to prospective homeowners.

Freedom to buy

First, the Chancellor’s

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