Tag Archives: asia
UK construction industry sets out plans to increase training for building new homes
Over 45,000 new home building workers will be trained by 2019 to help tackle the UK’s housing shortage through a £2.7 million initiative announced by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Home Builders Federation (HBF). The first of its kind, the Home Building Skills Partnership will bring together firms of all sizes to ensure that the industry has the skills it needs to build more homes. This will include initiatives to promote collaboration on skills across the supply chain, so that the industry can better plan for its future needs. The partnership will support over 3,500 construction businesses and, by 2019, train 45,000 new entrants and 1,000 experienced workers with the new home building training qualifications. The housebuilding industry has delivered unprecedented increases in house building over the past two years with the latest figures showing that 181,000 new homes were provided last year, up 25% year on year. The largest companies are increasing their output by 50% since the troughs in the aftermath of the global economic downturn and the industry as a whole is now looking to meet Government ambitions to increase output still further. Experts point out that to maintain high levels of build quality and customer service, it is imperative industry capacity is increased and the new partnership aims to use industry insight to understand skills needs and develop new training and qualifications ideally suited to the modern homebuilding sector. It will create long term skills solutions to meet the government’s target of one million new homes by 2020 and will be overseen by a Board that will be chaired by Redrow chief executive officer John Tutte and include a range of senior industry representatives and CITB. ‘The number of new homes is up 25% in the last year because the country is building again and delivering the homes the nation wants. That’s why the Home Building Skills Partnership is an important initiative and will help deliver the training of skilled workers we need to get the job done and to improve quality across the industry,’ said Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis. ‘Construction offers an exciting and rewarding career and we need to build a new generation of home grown talented, ambitious and highly skilled construction workers,’ he added. Stewart Baseley, HBP executive chairman, pointed out that to enable increased output to deliver the high quality new homes the country needs it is absolutely crucial to build up industry capacity. ‘To allow us to do it is essential we have a clear focus on delivering the training the industry needs. The partnership will enable us to develop targeted training that meets the specific needs of our industry in a structured way so we can grow steadily and sustainably,’ he said. According to Steve Radley, CITB policy director, the major challenges faced by home builders can only be met through new ways of working. ‘Home builders have said they want to work with CITB to anticipate their skill… Continue reading
Liverpool district named as top up and coming area for affordable homes in UK
New research shows where in the UK it is possible to find a home below the national average price of £200,000 but in areas where there has also been storing price growth in recent months. Liverpool's central L1 postcode is the top affordable area on the up, having seen a property price increase of 41.2% in the last year. An average property increased in value from £85,000 between December 2011 and November 2014, to an average of £120,000 for the year to November 2015. The analysis of Land Registry data by consumer organisation Which? Mortgage Advisors, also shows that second and third were 'LL27 in Conwy North Wales and BD1 in Bradford, just east of the city's University. Average property prices in these postcode areas increased by 37% and 36% respectively. In LL27 the average property price rose from £135,000 between 2011 and 2014, to £185,000, and in BD1 they rose from £42,000 to £57,000. Despite the significant increase in average property prices in these areas, they remain under the national average. Even in London where prices are higher there are pockets with affordable homes with the potential to increase in value such as DA18 in Bexley DA18. The average property price in DA18 was £191,500, up by 32% in the last year. ‘For a first time buyer or a buy to let investor, these up and coming areas can provide an affordable alternative to buying in an already established area,’ said David Blake at Which? Mortgage Advisers. ‘You could see your property grow in value quickly, but it's important to remember that property markets can change, and there is never a cast iron guarantee that values will continue to rise,’ he explained. The organisation says there are a number of signs that an area may be 'on the up' such as being next to currently thriving town and if a local authority plans to regenerate the town centre as well as plans to improve transport links. Other signs include the arrival of new trendy shops, restaurants, cafes and nightlife while skips and scaffolding can be an indication of increased prosperity and improved housing stock. New build properties appearing can often increase the value of surrounding properties as well as new schools being built or current ones climbing Ofsted rankings while new estates agents appearing are also regarded as a sign of a growing property market. Continue reading
Top end property prices in Hong Kong set to fall by 15% this year
Stock market volatility and the interest rate rise in the United States has dampened investment sentiment in the property markets in Hong Kong, according to a new report. Overall the luxury sector prices remained broadly steady, with apartment prices on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon recording some mild declines, says the latest briefing report from Savills World Research. In the fourth quarter of 2015 primary sales rebounded after the quiet summer months but secondary sales declined further, and total transaction volumes of 10,000 were the lowest since 2002. The report suggests that prime residential prices are on course to decline by 15% this year, with little positive news expected in the short term. The data shows that sales sale on Hong Kong Island declined by 36% quarter on quarter in the final three months of 2015 while prime apartment prices fell 0.9%. However, there was still a 9.3% price growth over the year as a whole. Mid-Levels, with the highest concentration of primary launches and future supply among all districts, saw prices remain relatively stable in the last quarter of 2015, with an 8% increase overall for the year. Supported by a few house sales on the Peak in the fourth quarter townhouse prices remained stable over the quarter and recorded an 8.3% increase overall in 2015. Luxury transaction volumes in Kowloon and the New Territories also fell heavily by 62% and the report says this was due to a lack of significant new launches over the quarter, with most first-hand transactions coming from the remaining units of projects launched earlier in the year. Luxury prices in Kowloon declined by 1.4% while prices in the New Territories remained largely stable. ‘With investment sentiment dwindling, and few market highlights, many purchasers held off making investment decisions. This, coupled with the increasing number of newly completed luxury units being made available for lease amid declining rents, caused some potential purchasers to switch to the leasing market to avoid uncertainties over the next one to two years,’ the report explains. Mass residential prices declined by 2.9% across the board in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the report says that unlike previous declines in 2012 and 2013 which were in response to various restrictive government measures and thus short lived, the residential market seems to have turned a corner, due to the uncertain economic environment, a further possible rate hike and a potential tightening of funding to reduce capital outflows. In fact, while developers in general achieved satisfactory sales of primary projects in the quarter with 4,606 primary units sold, a 32% increase from the third quarter, this was mainly through providing more incentives, steeper price discounts, or both. The result was that the secondary market was frozen out and the 5,563 secondary transactions recorded, as well as the 10,169 total transactions recorded, were both all-time quarterly lows since 2002. Global economic uncertainties, stock market volatility and fears of further capital outflows from the local banking… Continue reading
