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Number of new affordable homes built in UK up 55% year on year
The latest figures show 66,640 new affordable homes were delivered in the UK in the last year, 55% more than the previous year and the fastest rate of growth since 1993. Communities Secretary Greg Clark said this was further proof of the government’s commitment to get more homes built. He announced that the number of social and affordable rented homes has increased by nearly two thirds, and the number of affordable homes to buy rose by 41% over the same time period. ‘We are far from complacent and the doubling of government investment in house building announced at the recent Spending Review reaffirms our commitment to deliver a million new homes by 2020,’ said Clark. He pointed out that affordable homes to rent and buy are a key part of that, helping to give young people and families across the country the best possible start in life. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said it showed that house building efforts are paying off. ‘This is real progress but there is more to do. That’s why we are going further and increasing our investment in these homes to ensure many more people can benefit,’ he added. The figures mean that over 270,000 new affordable homes have been delivered since 2010. At the Spending Review last week, the government announced plans to double investment in house building to £8 billion, to help towards delivering one million homes by 2020 and to deliver the largest affordable housebuilding programme since the 1970s. This includes 135,000 new homes to buy through a new Help to Buy: Shared Ownership scheme, a new London Help to Buy, to help aspiring home owners in the capital to buy with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require and 200,000 new Starter Homes, which will be available at a 20% discount to young first time buyers. This is on top of measures included in the Housing and Planning Bill currently going through Parliament, including ensuring new Starter Homes are included on all reasonably sized development sites. The Bill will also mean giving communities the power to grant permission in principle on sites identified in local plans and on brownfield registers, to speed up the planning system while at the same time protecting the green belt and planning reforms to support small builders, with a requirement for councils to offer shovel ready sites for custom build homes. Continue reading
Continued uncertainty over tax still affecting prime central London property
Annual price growth in prime central London fell to 0.9% in November, against the background of prolonged uncertainty surrounding the impact of property tax, according to the latest analysis report. Annual growth was at its lowest level since October 2009, with a monthly decline of 0.3% contributing to the slowdown, says the report from international real estate firm Knight Frank. In the six months to October, when asking prices fell by 10% to 20%, exchanges took an average of 24 weeks but viewing levels in October were the third highest since the start of 2014, it also shows. It points out that the Autumn Statement from Chancellor George Osborne which announce that buy to let investors and those purchasing second homes face paying an extra 3% in stamp duty tax from next April came as tentative signs began to emerge that buyers and sellers are adjusting to previous stamp duty changes introduced in December 2014. ‘After a year under the new system, which raised rates for properties worth more than £1.1 million, a growing number of vendors have begun to set asking prices that reflect the more subdued level of demand and heightened sensitivity to pricing among buyers,’ said Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank. He explained that Knight Frank sales data for the six months to October shows properties sold at an incrementally slower pace as the achieved price fell below the asking price. In instances where the achieved price was 80% to 90% of the asking price, where the asking price came down by between 10% and 20%, exchanges took an average of 24 weeks. This compared to nine weeks where the asking price and the achieved price are the same, that is to say where no reduction was necessary. ‘It demonstrates the strength of underlying demand, which is reflected in the fact viewing levels have increased in recent months. Viewings in October were at the third highest level since the start of 2014,’ Bill added. November also saw the release of Knight Frank’s global tax report, which showed London was in the middle of the pack compared to other major global cities in relation to prime property tax and holding costs. ‘The latest stamp duty changes appear unlikely to alter this position materially,’ said Bill. Continue reading
UK’s first affordable rent to buy homes to be built in south west city
Plans have been announced for the UK’s first affordable rent to buy homes to be built on a development in the south west of England. Plymouth based housing companies Persimmon Homes and Rentplus have signed an agreement to develop 19 new affordable rent to buy homes in the city to help tackle the region’s housing shortage and help people into home ownership for the first time. The properties are part of a 139 home development built by Persimmon Homes at William Prance Road, Derriford, as part of Plymouth City Council’s Get Plymouth Building programme. ‘With average house prices in the South West now close to £230,000 and in some places more than £300,000 and average earnings in the region among the lowest in England, we have an unbelievable housing situation where many houses cost more than 10 times the average annual household income,’ said Rentplus chief executive, Richard Connolly. ‘Rentplus is designed to make housing accessible for all those who wish to own their own home and we look forward to working with partners in Plymouth and across the country to help tackle the housing crisis,’ he added. The first homes at Palmerston Heights are now complete and Rentplus is working with Tamar Housing Society to identify suitable tenants in need of an affordable rented home who aspire to buy their own home in the future. The Rentplus homes are available at affordable rents up to 80% of the local market rent for an agreed period of between five and 20 years. Once the rental tenancy has finished, residents are given the opportunity to buy their Rentplus home and will be given a 10% deposit by Rentplus to do so. Palmerston Heights is close to a historic 19th century fort and includes a mix of two, three and four bed houses and one and two bed flats available on the open market or through rent to buy and shared ownership schemes. An additional five social rented homes will be managed by local social landlord Tamar Housing Society. The Rentplus homes will be marketed and allocated to households by Tamar Housing Society through Devon Home Choice housing register which enables local households to be considered for affordable housing which becomes available in the area. Figures from the South West Housing Initiative show the region is the fastest-growing in the country, but has the nation's biggest regional housing crisis. A report from the National Housing Federation shows that private renters in the South West are spending 35% of their earnings on rent, the third highest rent to income ratio in the country. A study in June 2013 found there were more than 10,000 households on Plymouth’s housing register, underlining the importance of building new homes in the region. Julie Barnett, chief executive of Tamar Housing Society, believes it is vital to provide affordable housing to those… Continue reading
