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UK home builders facing a severe shortage of workers
It is not a lack of materials, sites or ability that is preventing house builders in the UK from meeting targets but a lack of workers, according to some of the country’s largest home firms. If 200,000 new homes are to be built by 2020, a target pledged by the government, recruitment in the industry would have to take a sharp upturn from current numbers, especially for the most highly skilled workers. ‘Whilst we as an industry are committed to the target of more affordable homes available to first time buyers, Weston Homes has had to really ramp up its recruitment in order to meet these targets,’ said Bob Weston, the firm’s chairman and chief executive. ‘We currently have a shortfall within the industry of skilled tradesmen, construction managers and fabricators, especially those with many years’ experience providing the quality we expect,’ he added. He pointed out that Weston Homes has recently sent 6,500 letters to local schools, attempting to attract more young people into apprenticeships and eventually the construction industry to meet the shortfall. In the last month Weston Homes has taken on 23 new recruits into its apprenticeship scheme, who join in to the around 20% of employees studying for NVQ’s, attending ILM management training or on sponsored day release courses. ‘It takes two years to train skilled workers and five years to train our best recruits to management level, though of course development lasts a lifetime. Finding someone with 20 plus years of experience is becoming increasingly rare and difficult,’ Weston said. ‘We have always been committed to getting more young people involved in the industry, and with these new affordable home targets we will need, as an industry, to open our doors to bright young apprentices,’ he added. Recent research from the Federation of Master Builders said that 66% of small and medium construction firms have had to turn down work because they don't have enough workers and the biggest shortages are for bricklayers and carpenters. The shortages all around the UK, with the east of England suffering from a short supply of plasterers, while the West Midlands is struggling to find scaffolders. Northern Ireland has the greatest need for general labourers. Firms said the main problem was difficulty in finding apprentices, and a lack of apprenticeships has held back potential new entrants to the jobs market with a belief that many are bowing to pressure from their parents to stay in full time education. ‘The lack of experienced multi skilled workers is a huge concern for my business, as it could affect our future growth plans. We urgently need tradespeople that are trained in more than one area, such as plumbing, tiling and joinery for bathroom installations but we just aren’t seeing the candidates come through,’ said Tony Passmore, chief executive of the Leeds based Passmore Group. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) agreed that recruiting and training people was now… Continue reading
Major changes announced for Scottish rental sector and rural housing
The private rented sector in Scotland is facing change with improved security for tenants and rights and safeguards for landlords, it has been announced. The Scottish government said that a new Private Tenancies Bill will be introduced to provide more predictable rents and curb excessive rent rises with local rent controls for areas where prices are deemed too high. A new Rural Housing Fund will be created to help create more affordable homes in the countryside and more details on the current Help to Buy scheme for first time buyers will follow. The Scottish Private Rented Tenancy will replace the current Assured system. It will remove the ‘no-fault’ ground for repossession, meaning a landlord can no longer ask a tenant to leave simply because the fixed term has ended. It will also provide comprehensive and robust grounds for repossession that will allow landlords to regain possession in specified circumstances. The aim is to provide more predictable rents and protection for tenants against excessive rent increases, including the ability to introduce local rent controls for rent pressure areas and overall to create a more streamlined, clearer to understand tenancy system that is fit for the modern private rented sector. The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon also revealed that the Scottish Government’s target to provide 30,000 affordable homes by the end of this parliament is set to be exceeded. By the end of March 2015, a total of 26,972 affordable homes, some 90% of the target, had been delivered. Another £195 million will be made available over next three years to extend the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme which help at least 6,500 households and there will also be a review of the planning system with a particular emphasis on delivering more homes by delivering a quicker more accessible and efficient process. The Rural Housing Fund aims to help people who wish to stay and live in rural communities where there is often a lack of affordable homes. It will be available from 2016 for a period of three years. Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, described the PRS bill as a very positive step that is good news for tenants, landlords and letting agents alike. ‘We look forward to seeing the bill in more detail, the timescales for implementing these changes and how they will work in practice,’ he said. ‘The private rented sector is now home to 330,000 households across Scotland, including around 85,000 families with children. The changes included in the bill will begin the process of reforming the private rented sector and making it more modern, stable, flexible, predictable and fairer for everyone that calls it home,’ he added. Harriet Protheroe-Davis from the Living Rent Campaign, welcomed the move on rent controls. ‘It is important that the model of rent controls fully addresses the problems in rented housing, and we will continue to campaign to ensure that it does, but today’s announcement shows that the Scottish Government has listened to the thousands of people… Continue reading
Home sales still rising in Auckland, but prices stall
Auckland house sales activity was at its highest in more than 15 years during July, but price increases have stalled, according to the latest real estate data. Indeed, the average sales price at $827,359 has remained much the same as for the past two months, the figures from real estate agent Barfoot Thompson show. In July the average sales price was within $1,000 of that for June, and only $5,000 ahead of that for May and managing director Peter Thompson pointed out that a stable average price over a three month period is a trend not witnessed for some time. ‘The combination of high turnover and stable price, points to buyer confidence in the strength of the market at current prices but also recognition that property is fully priced. The last three months of trading also demonstrates that high sales numbers can be sustained without prices increasing,’ he said. ‘The first signs that price increases were slowing could be seen in last month's sales figures, and this month's results confirm that prices are no longer racing ahead. In fact, the median price in July at $757,000 is down $29,000 on that for June, but up $7,000 on that for May,’ he explained. But property turnover is rising and in July the firm sold 1,388 homes, some 18.9% higher than the number in June and 41.2% higher than in July last year. It is the highest sales figure for a July going back to 1999, and 4.5% higher than in July 2003, the year normally regarded as the most active on record. The firm’s data also shows that new listings at 1,777 were the second highest for any month this year, the highest being in March at 1997, and were 27.3% higher than in July last year. Meanwhile, total listings at month end at 2,802 were at their lowest since December last year, and Thompson said this will contribute to choice remaining tight during August. Sales of properties in the million dollar plus category at 411 during the month were the second highest on record. There was also strong interest in property in the under $500,000 category, with sales numbers reaching 200 and representing 14.4% of all sales. In June sales of properties under $500,000 fell to 13.6% of sales. ‘With Spring approaching comparing market activity in the next few months with 2014 trading could be challenging, as in 2014 trading was significantly impacted by a 'wait and see' attitude that developed as we moved towards the general election. In the lead up to the election sales numbers slowed and prices did not recover until November,’ said Thompson. Continue reading
