new homes
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Latest property news
Chancellor’s promise to build 300,000 new homes a year is on shaky foundations
Figures just published by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) reveal that the number of new homes built in England between July and September dropped by 4%, and by 1% year-on-year. The number of new homes started totalled 40,070 during the quarter, and 166,100 year-on-year, although the figures for completions were marginally better, up 2% to 39,250 on a quarterly basis and by 5% on an annual one. But the figures, which include both local authority and private new builds, reveal that the most marked downturn took place in the private market where quarterly starts were down by 6% compared to the previous quarter, and completions down by 2%. The figures also reveal how much the UK is becoming a nation of house dwellers, despite many governments’ attempts to build more ‘high density’ housing. New homes Just after the Millennium flats made up 25% of all new builds and, despite rising to 50% during the mid-noughties, has slumped back to 25% again. Earlier this month Housing minister Alok Sharma (pictured, left) revealed a £25 million fund to help “ambitious local authorities and third sector organisations in areas of high housing plan for new homes and infrastructure”. “Locally-led developments…
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Latest property news
Fore! 19 homes on the fairway!
New homes are to be built on the edge of Strathaven Golf Club in South Lanarkshire after land next to the first hole was put up for sale, to help fund the relocation of its green keeper’s accommodation.
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Features
Kate Faulkner: c’mon agents, let’s sell more new-builds
Buyers may dream of a cottage with roses around the door, but, says Kate Faulkner, buying a new home can get FTBs on the ladder.
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Features
Fixing our broken housing market
The UK housing market has very grave issues, affordability, supply, location… we have a housing crisis and we need urgent action to confront those issues and resolve them. The Housing White Paper: ‘Fixing our broken housing market’ was published on 7th February, introduced in Parliament by the Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid. The response from the housing industry was, in the main, lukewarm.
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Features
Good idea? The government’s Garden Villages plan examined
It’s the Government’s new baby, 14 new garden villages, potentially delivering 48,000 homes across England. Sheila Manchester wonders how it will be delivered.
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Latest property news
Autumn Statement: 40,000 new homes promised
40,000 new homes on their way – that was a good start to The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The Government has, again, increased its drive for more affordable housing to help to address what he described as a chronic shortage. The Chancellor echoed the pledge by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, to ensure the economy “works for everyone.” Philip Hammond said that the Government had made great efforts but now must go even further, announcing a further £1.4bn funding injection to help thousands more families to buy a home. The Government says that 40,000 new homes will be built as a result of the funding injection, which, with the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme and the Help to Buy ISA, will be used to help first-time buyers, sharing owners who wish to move on. He said that they will abandon the rigid framework set by the current Affordable Homes Programme, with the £4.3bn of current and £1.4bn of additional funding allocated “flexibly” between existing shared ownership and affordable rent schemes. Previous plans indicated that 88pc of funds would be used to build at least 135,000 homes for shared ownership, which are targeted at families with incomes of £80,000 or less,…
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Latest property news
MOD site in Bath to be transformed
Savills is the selling agency for a former Ministry of Defence site in Bath, which is being transformed into a new neighbourhood of 200 classically-styled homes...
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Features
Can builders dare to be different?
Who is building interesting, modern homes for the mass market? Andrea Kirkby reviews developments that break the mould and win awards.
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Latest property news
Connells says Midlands new homes sales have bounced back
Connells has reported a 12% year-on-year increase in sales for its Midlands new homes division (pictured, right) which, the company says, marks a return to confidence within the region following June’s Brexit vote. Its Land and News Homes team racked up a “staggering” 210 new homes sales between July and September this year. It’s an achievement which, says Regional New Homes Director Donna Smith, has been helped by a “pro-housing government, record low interest rates and competitive mortgage products”. “New homes sales are currently flying across the Midlands and we’re not experiencing any hesitancy from customers in the wake of the referendum decision. “In fact, we’re seeing quite the opposite and with continued lack of supply, new homes continue to perform well and remain much in demand.” Developments which have helped the team deliver such strong results include sites in central Birmingham, Oldbury in the West Midlands and Lichfield in Staffordshire. Also, recent figures from NHBC confirm a national post-Brexit bounce for new homes. Its figures show that the number of newbuilds registered to be built in the UK during August reached 12,500, an increase of 20% compared to the same month last year. These results are a vindication for Connells’…
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Latest property news
Chancellor’s £3 billion new homes promise
The Chancellor Philip Hammond and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, have announced a £3billion Home Building Fund to provide more homes, more quickly, in, they promise, the places people want to live. The announcement came following Philip Hammond’s key speech at the Conservative conference on Monday 3rd October. As part of the government’s action to tackle the housing deficit and ensure everyone has a secure place to live, the Communities Secretary and the Chancellor said that they are determined to take action and get more homes built. Chancellor Philip Hammond set out the plan to launch a £3 billion Home Building Fund to help to build more than 25,000 new homes during this Parliament and up to 200,000 in the longer term. Note that this isn’t a donation to building homes, the fund will provide loans for small and medium enterprise builders, custom builders, offsite construction and essential infrastructure. Sajid Javid said, “This Government is getting on with the job of building a country that works for everyone. We’ve made great progress fixing the broken housing market we inherited but now is the time to go further. We want to ensure everyone has a safe and secure place to live and that means we’ve got to build…
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