Tag Archives: housing
Call for UK Government to do more to provide affordable homes
Councils in the UK have called on the Government to do more to tackle affordable housing as prices continue on an upward trajectory. A report on housing need in the UK published by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) calls for urgent Government action to deliver the homes needed in the UK. It also reveals that 72% of councils think the National Planning Police Framework (NPPF) hinders building of affordable housing, 96% of councils say that their need for affordable housing is severe or moderate and 7% think starter homes will help address affordable housing. In particular they says that it is the viability test laid out in the NPPF that is hampering their ability to build social and affordable housing. However 11% of councils think that the viability test will provide the numbers that we need to tackle the biggest housing crisis of a generation, an increase of 19% compared to a year ago. ‘With 96% of councils describing their need for affordable homes as severe or moderate, and 89% worried that the extension of Right to Buy will lead to less affordable homes, it is clear that there is a real crisis,’ said Kate Henderson, chief executive of the TCPA. ‘Councils are concerned that government policy is not enabling them to deliver genuinely affordable housing. We need to have a housing strategy that provides affordable homes to all people,’ she added. The report sets out recommendations to tackle the challenges of providing the necessary housing, saying that the government need to put in place a housing strategy that provides decent homes for everyone in society. The report also recommends that councils are not forced to sell off their social housing to fund the extension of Right to Buy with the research showing that nine of 10 councils are worried that the extension of Right to Buy will lead to less housing available for social rent. ‘Our main message is we need Government to put in place a housing strategy for the nation that provides decent homes for all. Whilst efforts have been concentrated on so called affordable homes this is often not the case and these homes remain out of reach for the vast majority of people,’ said Paul O'Brien, APSE chief executive. ‘The situation is even worse for those dependent on social and genuinely affordable housing for rent. Current housing policy is in need of demolition. The time has come to start afresh by putting local authorities and new council homes at the heart of a new housing strategy,’ he pointed out. The report also showcases innovation in local government, including effective new models of housing delivery, and the report calls for the government to give back control to local authorities over their investment plans, rents and assets. This is the second housing research collaboration between… Continue reading
Asking prices continue to rise across the UK, latest index shows
Asking prices in all parts of the UK increased in May with England and Wales seeing an increase of 0.8% and Scotland up 0.7%, according to the latest index to be published. Year on year prices in England and Wales have now increased by 7.5% and in Scotland by 5.8%, the figures from Home.co.uk show. This takes the average asking price in England and Wales to £296,480 and in Scotland to £177,121 and with buyer activity increasing the firm’s index report suggests that prices will continue rising. Asking prices are still rising strongly in Greater London, up 9.6% year on year and 0.5% month on month to an average of £552,878 while the East of England region is also robust with an annual rise of 12.8% and a monthly rise of 2% to £330,990. The South East has seen asking prices rise by 9.5% year on year and 0.7% month on month to £392,712. Elsewhere in the country growth is more modest with Wales seeing annual growth of 1.9% and monthly growth of 0.8%, taking the average asking price to £185,527. The index report also shows that the supply of property for sale is beginning to increase, up 4% year on year overall but up 22% in Greater London and the typical time on the market is up two days to 78 days over the last month across England and Wales, some nine days less than in May 2015. It suggests that the anticipated slowdown following the extra stamp duty charge for buy to let property and additional homes is already fading away. ‘Buyer activity is up and prices continue to rise across the country. Overall, the property market is in better shape than last year,’ said Doug Shephard, director at Home.co.uk. He explained that significant improvements in marketing times in the North suggest that these formerly stagnant regions are experiencing and uplift in demand. ‘Supply in the North East, North West and Yorkshire remains subdued and we expect prices to rise steadily over the summer months,’ he said. ‘Indeed, the total stock of property for sale remains historically very low despite an uptick in supply in London. Scarcity remains the key price driver. The acute supply shortage in the East of England is driving prices up and this region is now outpacing London and the South East in terms of home appreciation. We anticipate that prices will soon reach their affordability limits, as happened in London, and price rises will be more subdued next year,’ Shephard pointed out. He also explained that market activity in London is slower now than back in 2014 when fierce competition for limited supply was driving up prices at an unsustainable pace. ‘However, the market still has significant momentum and sufficient demand remains to elicit more modest price rises. A notable increase in supply is currently providing more choice for buyers and is attenuating price rises,’ said Shephard. He also pointed out that the underlying fundamentals of cheap borrowing… Continue reading
New £2.7 million initiative launched in UK to help tackle housing shortage
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, working with research on their needs from some 40 UK home builders, 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 and 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 homebuilding training qualifications. It comes at a time when the house building industry has delivered unprecedented increases in house building over the past two years. The latest figures show that 181,000 new homes were provided last year, up 25% year on year, with the largest companies increasing their output by 50% since their troughs. With the industry looking to meet Government ambitions to increase output still further, whilst maintaining high levels of build quality and customer service, it is imperative industry capacity is increased. The aim is that the new partnership will use industry insight to understand skills needs and develop new training and qualifications ideally suited to the modern home building sector and create long term skills solutions to meet the government’s target of one million new homes by 2020. It 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. Initiatives throughout the four year programme will include research led by the HBF and employers, to get a better understanding of the barriers faced by the home building sector and the design and delivery of a new Home Building Training and Developmental Needs Analysis tool to ensure the right training is delivered to ensure the sector’s skills needs are met, now and in the future. There will also be the establishment of a framework that will set common standards for skills and training in the home building sector. This will deliver a more relevant and valued curriculum and ensuring the safety and satisfaction of homebuilders and their customers. ‘The industry… Continue reading
