housing shortage
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Latest property news
BLOG: Why as an agent I want to help competitors work smarter
Agent Response boss Mike Nettleton says agents embracing technology and upskilling staff will ensure clients are continually supported in finding their perfect property.
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Housing Market
UK house prices look set to soar
The UK is the fourth best place in the world to invest in residential property, owed largely to a general housing shortage and the country’s economic growth, according to research by Savills. The results from the study, based on economic performance and growth prospects alongside population growth, found that the UK housing market, which has seen prices soar on average by 20 per cent since 2010, was ranked behind only the US, United Arab Emirates and Singapore as the best place to make a return on rents and increasing property values. “When a growing population, growing affluence and limited housing or land supply converge, we would anticipate real house price growth,” said Yolande Barnes (left), Director of Savills World Research. A separate residential market report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) also says that the growing gulf between supply and demand is driving residential property prices higher and the organisation now predicts that house prices are set to rise by 6 per cent in 2015. The RICS price indicator reached a 15-month high in August, with a net balance of 53 per cent more respondents reporting price increases, with growth being recorded across all parts of the UK.…
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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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Housing Market
Housing is a top issue for voters
One of the most closely contested General Elections for decades is now formally under way, with the NHS, economy, immigration, welfare and jobs all high on the political agenda. But housing is also a major concern for many voters and could prove a key electoral battleground for the various political parties, according to pollster Ipsos Mori. Ipsos Mori’s latest Issues Index reveals that 14 per cent of voters currently rank housing as among the most important issues facing the country, up from 5 per cent in 2010, as more people struggle to afford to buy their own home in light of higher property prices and a general housing shortage. The Conservative party, which has reformed the planning system and introduced various Government initiatives including its flagship Help to Buy scheme since coming to power in 2010, has vowed to boost the level of discounted starter homes available for first-time buyers under the age of 40 if re-elected in May. Writing in PROPERTYdrum magazine, Brandon Lewis (left), the Housing and Planning Minister, said, “We’ve supported the aspirations of hard-working people. Help to Buy is enabling homeowners to purchase with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require, and leading developers…
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Latest property news
A look at housing policy under Labour
FOR MILLIONS OF families across the country, the cost of buying or renting a home is at the heart of the cost-of-living crisis. And for many of those who used to dream of owning their own home, their hopes are fading fast as house prices rise and their wages stagnate. Recent figures show that for the first time in decades, if you’re in your late twenties or early thirties, you’re more likely to be renting privately than buying a home with a mortgage. The cause of this is simple – there is a chronic shortage of affordable homes in many parts of Britain. The housing shortage did not begin with this Government. But under David Cameron it is getting much worse. The number of homes built across the country in the past four years is lower than at any time in peacetime since the 1920s. We support help for first time buyers which is why we support ‘Help to Buy’. But rising demand for housing must be matched with rising supply, otherwise there is a real risk that soaring house prices will push home ownership out of the reach of the very first-time buyers that the scheme should be helping.…
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