house-builders
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Land & New Homes
Big housebuilding merger given official go-ahead by CMA
An obstacle to the £2.5 billion purchase of Redrow by Barratt appears to have been cleared by the competition regulator.
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Latest property news
Housebuilding behemoth born after two giants combine
Vistry Group, formerly Bovis Homes, has purchased struggling Countryside in a deal worth £1.25 billion.
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Latest property news
Big house builders need ‘breaking up’ to increase competition, says Javid
Sajid Javid, who is being readied for a return to the Cabinet, has said that a handful of house builders have a 'stranglehold' on market.
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Features
Dressing rooms
What’s the difference between a house and a home? Furniture plays a huge part in that vision and surely, selling ‘homes’ is easier than selling ‘houses’, says Lisa Isaacs.
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Housing Market
£100m funding boost for house builders
The Government has pledged to match the £50 million promised by Lloyds Banking Group in October to help increase the supply of needed new homes across the country, the Housing Minister Brandon Lewis (left) announced this week. The Housing Growth Partnership will act as a dedicated initiative alongside small builders to invest in new developments, with the ultimate aim of increasing housing supply. The latest house building data reveal that housing starts are now at a seven-year high and climbing, while the volume of homes granted planning consent has reached 261,000 – the highest since 2007. But to help “maintain this momentum and keep the country building”, Lewis said that the Government recognised that greater investment in the sector is needed. He commented, “The 2008 economic crash devastated our army of small builders, with delivery falling from 44,000 homes to just 18,000 – seven years on, companies are getting back on their feet but we’re determined to give them all the help they need.” Lloyds Banking Group said that it welcomed the Government’s announcement of support for the housing growth partnership, which will double the capability to support SME house builders. Andrew Bester, Group Director and Chief Executive, commercial banking…
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Housing Market
Political parties set to fail on house building promises
All the major political parties are proposing to develop at least 200,000 new build homes a year if elected to power this week to help tackle the housing shortage, but new research shows that level of house building may be unachievable under existing market conditions. Knight Frank’s latest Housebuilding Report reveals that more than two thirds of residential property developers in the UK believe that it would be impossible to deliver more than 180,000 new homes a year as things stand. More than 160 respondents from house-builders and developers across the country took part in Knight Frank’s annual survey, with 67 per cent of respondents stating that the maximum sustainable annual delivery of new homes was 180,000 or less. Just 9 per cent said it was possible to build more than 200,000 residential units a year. Over half of all developers and house-builders said a rise in the delivery of affordable homes over the next year was unlikely. However, around 60 per cent expect a continued rise in the number of total housing starts and completions over the next 12 months. With a general shortage of new homes coming onto the market, 78 per cent of respondents expect new-build prices…
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