Property policy may be big election issue.

Speculation has grown that Gordon Brown, having become prime minister in June, is to make the most of his honeymoon in office by calling an early general election. If he does, it could be one in which property policies become a key battleground in the scramble to attract floating voters.
In preparation for a possible autumn poll, the Conservative Party has been setting out its own policies in the area of housing, partly in response to new announcements by Labour at its conference in Bournemouth. Gordon Brown pledged yet more home-building as his way to help first-time buyers. The Tories responded by pledging to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers on houses costing under £250,000 and promised to raise the inheritance tax (IHT) threshold to £1 million. At present the IHT threshold would mean the average home in London being taxed on its owner's death.

This would not be the first time that housing came high up the election agenda. The two main parties spent the immediate post-war period pledging out trump each other when it came to housebuilding, while the extension of home ownership through council house sales was an electorally successful policy for the Conservatives in the 1980s. Now, of course, the housing scene contains a substantial buy-to-let property element, which means this group may also find its fortunes considered by policymakers.
While the matter of IHT may appeal to many voters and concern also some investors, given that their portfolios will have to be that much larger to attract the tax in the event of a Conservative victory, the question of stamp duty may be the most telling issue.

It is one that could prove a significant bone of contention between the parties, as research by Halifax has concluded today that the amount of revenue received by the government for the tax has risen by 40 per cent in the last year. This raises the possibility that Labour, far from of copying the pledge to cut stamp duty, will attack the Conservative plan on the grounds that the lost revenue will mean spending cuts.

Should an election take place this autumn and Labour win, the government's housing policies may be largely a continuation of current themes, with an emphasis on building more homes, loosening planning controls and making houses increasingly eco-friendly. A Conservative win will bring a new bid to aid first-time home buyers, which in turn may boost that segment of the market and reduce the number of young people looking to buy-to-let for their housing needs.

Yet whoever wins, the priority given to housing issues by both parties means that buy residential property and buy-to-let landlords alike will constantly need to keep an eye on the latest policy initiatives.

Jim Barnaby is a real estate investment broker and successful property investment adviser delivering research and selected UK and overseas property investment solutions with experience in spanish properties, french property investment, German property, Cyprus holiday homes, Property in Cape Verde, German property investment, cape verde property buy to let property