Tag Archives: europe
Charity calls for new UK garden cities to remain affordable
Homes in existing and proposed garden cities in the UK should be exempt from the proposed extension of the Right to Buy scheme, it is claimed. According to the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), a housing and planning charity, this would ensure that garden cities remain socially mixed and affordable places to live. ‘Garden cities built today must have a primary focus on providing homes for everyone in society and in particular those most in need in the current housing crisis,’ Kate Henderson, TCPA chief executive told the charity’s Planning Research Convention. ‘That means that garden cities must include genuinely affordable housing for essential low paid workers whose employment underpins an economy on which we all depend. Garden Cities must also deliver intermediate forms of tenure for people on average incomes trying to get onto the housing ladder,’ she added. The extension of the Right to Buy to housing association tenants, a measure proposed in the forthcoming Housing Bill, has potentially significant implications for the housing offer in both existing and new garden cities according to the TCPA. ‘While the implication of the proposed extension to the Right to Buy in garden cities is not yet known, if there is a genuine commitment to new garden cities by Government then they will have to include a mix of housing types and tenures, as well as providing social and affordable housing in perpetuity,’ Henderson explained. ‘That is why we are calling on Government to provide clarity about whether existing and proposed new garden cities can be exempt from the extension of the Right to Buy,’ she added. She pointed out that in Letchworth Garden City today around 30% of homes are socially rented which is part of the town's success. ‘We believe there is a strong case for existing and new garden cities to be exempt from the proposed extension of the Right to Buy to ensure they are, and in the case of Letchworth remain , vibrant, socially mixed and affordable places to live,’ Henderson concluded. This autumn the TCPA will produce a series of guides designed to provide more detailed information and best practice examples to support those engaged in delivering visionary new garden cities. The guides are intended to be an important resource for a wide range of public and private sector practitioners engaged in the creation of new communities. Continue reading
UK lenders and brokers concerned about new European mortgage directive
Almost three quarters of mortgage brokers in the UK, some 74%, are worried about the impact of the incoming European Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) on overall lending activity over the next year. A similar number of lenders, 71%, take the same view as MCD implementation approaches, with a six month window from 21st September to 21st March to adopt the new rules, according to new research from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA). Unlike last year’s Mortgage Market Review (MMR), many of the MCD changes are of a technical nature involving new approaches to disclosure and documentation rather than major changes to advice, affordability criteria or lending decisions for residential mortgage borrowers. Nevertheless, 40% of brokers believe a smooth implementation of the MCD will be more challenging for the industry as a whole than MMR, including 11% who believe it will be significantly more challenging. The majority of lenders, 71%, believe it will be at least as challenging for industry to implement MCD and this includes 21% who believe it is more of a challenge, although 28% feel it will be less challenging. The UK government has openly questioned the benefits of MCD to UK consumers beyond the high level of protection offered by the existing FCA regime, and its approach to the negotiation and implementation of the MCD has been to minimise the impact on the UK market as far as possible. And the IMLA research also shows industry remains sceptical about a number of incoming changes in the lead up to implementing the MCD. Just 5% of brokers felt the introduction of a second APR will benefit the UK mortgage market, while 70% disagreed, as did 86% of lenders. Similarly, just 9% of brokers feel that replacing the Key Facts Illustration document (KFI) with the European Standard Information Sheet (ESIS) is a beneficial move while 68% disagree. Lenders were again stronger in their opposition with 86% disagreeing that the switch from KFI to ESIS will benefit the market. The research also shows that broker sentiment about market conditions at the midway point of 2015 was broadly consistent with the start of the year, with 50% feeling conditions are improving, compared with 51% in January. This is slightly improved from July 2014 when 46% felt the same. The report notes that 67% of lenders feel conditions are currently improving, up from 53% at the turn of the year and just 44% last summer. IMLA’s research suggests ‘standard’ borrowers and first time buyers have both benefitted from improving access to mortgage finance as the market has adjusted to the MMR requirements. During the first half of 2014 some 34% of brokers had been unable to find a suitable product for at least one standard borrower, but just 25% have reported the same in the first half of 2015. Similarly, 28% had been unable to help at least one first time buyer enquiry in the first six months of last year, but just 20% had this… Continue reading
Planning consent for new homes in New Zealand up 24% annually
The new build property sector in New Zealand is growing with planning consents up 24% in July compared with a year ago, the latest data shows. Overall there were 2,824 new dwellings consented nationally, the highest number since march 2005, according to the figures from Statistics New Zealand. It was boosted by apartments and town houses, flats, and units and Waikato led the growth with consents up 40% while Auckland saw growth of 31%, well above the national average. The total value of consents for all buildings in July 2015 was $1.4 billion, with some $976 million for residential buildings and $455 million for non-residential buildings. The data also shows that over $4 billion worth of building work was put in place in the June 2015 quarter, up nearly 8% on the June 2014 quarter, the highest quarterly value recorded in the 50 years since the series began, and represents almost $900 worth of building work per person. 'The value of both residential and non-residential building work increased overall. In Auckland, residential work grew, while in Canterbury most of the growth was in non-residential work,' said Statistics New Zealand business indicators manager Neil Kelly. After removing price changes and seasonal variations, the overall volume of building activity increased 1.6% following a 1.8% increase in the March 2015 quarter. Within this, the volume of non-residential work increased 5.2% while residential work fell 1%. The volume trend for non-residential building activity reached a new high in the June 2015 quarter, exceeding levels last seen in the March 2006 quarter. Meanwhile, the residential building activity volume trend is still 8% lower than the June 2004 quarter peak. The overall building activity volume trend grew to a level last seen 10 years ago in the June 2005 quarter, the previous series peak. Continue reading
