HBF
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Latest property news
Government-backed ID check sharing app for property industry unveiled
Newbuild home buyers only have to verify ID once under the MyIdentity system, avoiding multiple checks by agents, conveyancers, lender and brokers.
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Latest property news
Agents urged to comment as Government-backed digital ID system nears
The MyIdentity scheme offers new build buyers one verification process instead of multiple checks.
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Latest property news
New housing consents highest since 2008
There was a noteworthy increase in the number of planning permissions granted in the third quarter of last year, up from 53,409 consents in the corresponding quarter in 2014, according to data released in the Home Builder’s Federation (HBF) and Glenigan’s latest Housing Pipeline report. The statement suggests that 242,819 permissions were granted in the 12 months to October, the highest ‘moving annual’ total since early 2008. According to the data, 181,000 new homes were constructed in 2014/15, which broadly equates to the number of planning permissions recorded some two to three years ago. However, the industry remains concerned that the ‘lag’ of turning permissions into homes is becoming lengthier. “Whilst the overall increase in outline permissions is welcome, most of these still have to navigate the complexities of the planning system before they can be built,” said Stewart Baseley (left), Executive Chairman of the HBF. “It is imperative we speed up the time it takes for applications to be processed to the point that builders can actually build if we are to deliver further increases in housing supply.” The Government is holding a consultation on proposals to fast-track planning applications and introduce competition into the planning process, with a…
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Housing Market
Do builders really have too many land banks?
If you’ve ever wondered why it takes so long for new homes developments in your area to go from planning permission to completion, then a report by the Campaign for Rural England (CPRE) attempts to explain the strange world of land banks. The CPRE’s dossier on new homes building in the UK is a damming summary of the factors that prevent more new homes being built in the UK, something that frustrates many of the agents waiting to sell them. The Getting Houses Built report, published this month, lays the blame at the feet of the developers, which it collars for focussing too much on profit while “dictating supply but not meeting need”. One of the more surprising facts to emerge from the report is that the nine largest volume builders have a land bank of some 340,000 housing plots. While the CPRE admits that shareholder value will never override national house-building targets, it says the high levels of land ‘banked’ reveal the need for urgent reform. To fix this problem, the CPRE suggests that developers are granted planning permission on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis with a five-year limit, after which land would be compulsorily purchased off…
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