Tag Archives: european
Over a third of councils in England are boosting self build homes
More than 130 local councils in England, some 39%, are already taking action to help boost the opportunities available for people who want to build their own homes, new research shows. This first comprehensive survey of custom and self build activity across all local councils in England also shows that one in five councils have already set up a local custom and self build register or carried out assessments to measure local demand for people who want to build their own homes. On top of this 77 seven councils are already creating opportunities for private home builders through their Local Plans, the survey undertaken by the National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA) found. These involve a range of initiatives from policies asking for a mix of homes on sites and promoting private home building as part of affordable housing initiatives, to requiring building plots on larger housing sites, supporting collective projects and commitments to work with industry and local communities to identify suitable opportunities and, in some cases, providing finance support. More than 30 councils are identifying suitable sites or locations where private home building is encouraged and in some cases are disposing of public land or buying land and a number of councils are also identifying more significant opportunities. Opportunities include the re-use of former public sector sites, proposals to include private home building opportunities as part of future urban and village extensions, and introducing new planning policies that encourage affordable self and custom build homes in rural areas. Councils in the North East are currently the most proactive where 70% of them are progressing initiatives to make it easier for people who want to build their own homes. Two other regions, the South West and the West Midlands, have half or more of all councils bringing forward initiatives. The least active region is currently London, where just 21% of councils have so far taken action. However, since 2012 the overall level of local authority activity across England has approximately trebled. The association says that if this level of activity continues then by the end of 2016, between 150 and 200 councils will have brought forward new planning policies and initiatives to support private homebuilders across England. By the end of 2018 the combined impact of all these initiatives will assist towards enabling up to 10,000 more self or custom build opportunities to come forward and if this happens the scale of the current self build sector will have doubled. The NaCSBA research and development team has already completed visits to several German regions, and locations across the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Scotland. In addition the team is examining the Irish, US and Australian markets, and is currently investigating how the Scandinavian and some Far Eastern sectors operate. ‘Our international work has focused on how local councils support people who want to build their own affordable homes. In most other countries a significantly higher proportion of all housing… Continue reading
Central London prices set for growth of 18% over five years
House prices in central London set to rise 18% in next five years and rents by 19.5% as market moves forward after the UK’s general election, it is claimed. The latest analysis says that unprecedented uncertainty surrounding last month's election saw a stifling of house price growth across London, with the rate of house price growth at less than 4%, compared to the 9.6% increase seen in 2014. The emergence of the capital as a political scapegoat, with potential rent caps and a mansion tax being discussed, contributed to the sense that London households would bear the brunt of any tax changes, it points out. However both issues have now subsided, following the surprise majority win by the Conservatives, according to international real estate consultants Cluttons. Despite this, the damage done to domestic and international buyers' confidence was reflected in a sharp tailing off in demand during the first quarter of 2015, with both vendors withdrawing properties and buyers adopting a wait and see approach. ‘There is no doubt that the results of the general election have helped to re-inject confidence into the market that had receded early on this year,’ said Cluttons' international research and business development manager, Faisal Durrani. ‘The outlook for the London housing market has stabilised, while buyers and vendors have returned to the market following a conspicuous absence of activity. Our outlook for the rest of the year is for increased stability in the market and a return to a more normal state of activity,’ he added. The report also says that despite the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) contributing to a 16% year on year dip in home purchase loans in greater London to March 2015, affordability appears to be improving slightly, with the average loan size dipping to 3.86 times annual income in the first quarter of 2015. Risks still remain on the international front however. ‘International risks such as the threat of another Scottish referendum, a disorderly Greek exit from the European Union and a potential Brexit mean that the market has moved from a situation of having several unknown unknowns to being left with a handful of known unknowns. A Brexit remains the biggest threat as the impact on the economy is the biggest unknown at this stage,’ Durrani explained. Cluttons forecasts modest central London house price growth in 2015 of between 2% and 3%, before accelerating to nearly 5% in 2016 and stabilising at around 4% per annum between 2017 and 2019. Cluttons expect this level of growth to deliver cumulative capital value appreciation of almost 18% over the next five years. The prospects for the prime central London rental market are stable, with average growth of 4% per annum forecast for the next five years. Cluttons explains that affordability and the desire to purchase remain key challenges for the capital's rental market and while supply levels are rising, the strong rate of job creation in London will help in absorption rates. ‘The more subdued growth forecast… Continue reading
Election result hailed as positive for UK commercial property markets
The UK general election result should be positive for the country’s commercial property markets but the landslide in favour of the SNP in Scotland could result in uncertainty north of the border, according to experts. If the SNP push for another referendum on independence then uncertainty could creep into the markets north of the border, it is suggested. And a referendum on the UK’s position within the European Union could add to that. ‘There is good reason to now suppose the UK economy, that appeared to slow in the run-up to the election, can now resume a strengthening recovery. This will be good news for both the commercial leasing and investment markets,’ said James Roberts, chief economist of real estate firm Knight Frank. He believes there remains a great deal of political uncertainty that will influence but not derail the property market. ‘Firstly, the SNP’s overwhelming victory has put the existence of the Union back on the political agenda. Last year there was a brief slowdown in activity in the Scottish market in the run-up to the referendum, which may be replicated in a future poll. This comes with the caveat that some investors actually saw last year’s referendum as an opportunity to buy,’ he explained. ‘Secondly, a Conservative majority increases the chances of a referendum on European Union membership. If the prospect of Scottish independence caused a market slowdown, the idea of the UK leaving the EU will surely do the same, probably on a greater scale. Either a Tory backbench rebellion against the Bill or a vote sooner rather than later may be the best outcome,’ he pointed out. ‘Thirdly, the UK’s deficit remains large. If the financial markets suspect that not enough is being done to balance the books, sterling could fall in value. This will initially make UK commercial property look attractive to overseas money, but inflationary pressures would increase and bring closer the day that interest rates rise,’ he added. Over the next five years, the firm believes that this climate of political uncertainty will at times cause market confidence to drain away temporarily. ‘Some investors may decide to wait until after an upcoming referendum before buying; some occupiers might shelve expansion plans because a sudden fall or rise in sterling hits profits,’ said Roberts. ‘In short, we should expect the odd air pocket ahead, but overall the election outcome was probably much better for commercial property than one would have expected,’ he concluded. Miles Gibson, head of UK research at CBRE, also pointed out that the overall economic outlook remains favourable for markets. ‘Strong employment, low inflation, low interest rates and high levels of inward investment all bode well for the property sector,’ he said. But he believes that there remains, however, a question mark over EU membership, something ‘which bothers most of our clients immensely as they feel investment would suffer if we were to leave the EU’. The firm believes… Continue reading
