Emma Reynolds MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, responding to the Home Builders Federation’s voluntary commitment on overseas marketing of homes, said:

“The voluntary commitment by a number of housebuilders to market homes before or at the same time as they are available for sale overseas is a step in the right direction.

“However, Labour would go further. We would require new homes to be marketed here first and give councils greater powers to tackle the issue of ‘buy to leave’ where overseas investors buy up properties and then leave them empty.

“Labour has committed to tackling the housing crisis and will increase housebuilding to over 200,000 homes a year by 2020. However, people need to know that they will have the chance to buy them.”