housebuilding
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Latest property news
Housebuilders accused of ‘restricting supply’
Housebuilders are being blamed for the lack of housing supply after it was suggested that they are intentionally ‘holding back’ the construction of new homes to keep property prices artificially high in order to boost profits. The latest figures from Glenigan, which were compiled for the Local Government Association, show that 475,647 homes in England now have planning permission granted but have yet to be built. This figure is up 60 per cent since 2010, but the number of new homes being built has increased at a lower rate of 48 per cent, owed in part to the fact that the average length of time it takes for developers to complete a new home has jumped from 24 months to 32. Labour MP Clive Betts, Chair of the Local Government Select Committee, has reignited a long-running row between policymakers and the housebuilding sector over who is to blame for the current housing shortage by accusing the big housebuilders of failure to speed up housebuilding “to maximise their profits rather than addressing the country’s housing need.” “These are private companies who are very simply trying to make money for their shareholders. They are restricting supply and the government urgently needs to…
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Features
Housing crisis – can we fix it?
The Government wants more new-builds, but can we build enough new homes to resolve the housing crisis? Marc Da Silva reports.
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Housing Market
UK steps up housebuilding
The number of new homes registered to be built in the UK increased by 7 per cent year-on-year in 2015, hitting an eight year high of over 156,000, the latest figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) show. Private sector registrations rose by seven per cent to 118,611 in 2015 compared to 110,674 in 2014 while public sector registration increased by five per cent to 37,529 from 35,685 in 2014. While the 2015 annual total is still well below the 199,177 new build homes registered in 2007, it is 75 per cent higher than the 88,993 new homes registered during in 2009. “2015 was a year for continued housing growth in the UK. Both the public and private sectors have performed well and we have seen encouraging levels of house building across most regions of the country,” said NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton (left). The volume of detached homes registered reached 42,173, the highest for more than a decade. Additionally, the number of semi-detached homes registered in 2015 at 35,423 was the highest in over 20 years. NHBC’s latest figured also revealed that most parts of the UK experienced significant growth year-on-year, led by Northern Ireland, up 30 per…
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Housing Market
Building relationships
Housebuilding activity is rising, but how do you persuade developers to sell through you? Marc Da Silva reports.
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Uncategorised
Housing stock at an all time low
Designs on Property tracks and summarises the monthly property indices. Kate Faulkner says, “Too many agents are chasing too few properties… so who will survive the fall out?”
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Housing Market
Labour proposes housing bond to develop 125,000 new homes
Labour plans to introduce a housing bond system to generate up to £5 billion to fund the construction of up to 125,000 new homes if elected at next month’s General Election, the party has said. Using the Help To Buy ISA, which was announced for first-time buyers by the Chancellor, George Osborne,as part of his Budget last month, the new bond scheme would enable house builders to develop significantly more new homes Income from the ISA would be placed into a “future homes investment fund” for new residential property schemes and is similar to housing bonds used in the 1920s to stimulate housebuilding. The fund, designed to help tackle the chronic housing shortage in this country, will be targeted at new sites with first-time buyers offered priority. In a speech to Labour supporters in Warrington on Saturday, Ed Miliband (left), said, “There’s nothing more British than the dream of homeownership. Starting out in a place of your own. But for so many young people today that dream is fading.” Describing Labour’s plan as the “first real plan for housebuilding in a generation”, Mr Miliband has vowed to deliver at least 200,000 homes a year by the end of the parliament,…
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Guest Blogs
General election
Brandon Lewis, The Minister of State for Housing and Planning, reflects on what the Coalition Government has achieved on the housing front and gives us an insight into the Conservative Party’s strategy if elected in May.
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Features
Home… and away
If you think the UK is lagging behind other countries with its new build programme... you are right, says Andrea Kirkby.
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