July 5, 2011
UK house building activity fell in June, compared with May, as house prices continued to slide and employment levels in the construction sector overall declined at their fastest rate since January.
According to the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index, the industry has been hit by ...
House building activity falters
Permalink: House building activity falters
by Gill Montia
July 2, 2011
A new steering group has been set up jointly by the Local Government Group and Home Builders' Federation to look at reducing the complexity of UK home building standards.
Sir John Harman, a former Environment Agency chairman, will head the group, which will:
Oversee ...
Building standards under scrutiny
Permalink: Building standards under scrutiny
by Gill Montia
July 1, 2011
Taylor Wimpey says it is "very pleased" with its ongoing performance improvement in the UK, where it has continued to see stability since April.
In a trading update, the housebuilder's group chief executive, Pete Redfern, commented: "There are ongoing signs ...
Taylor Wimpey: improvement in mortgage lending
Permalink: Taylor Wimpey: improvement in mortgage lending
by Gill Montia
June 25, 2011
Two well-known names in the UK property market are launching a joint venture to develop a portfolio of private-rented housing across England.
Property adviser, Savills, and developer, Willmott Dixon, will operate through regional partnerships with ...
Savills and Willmott Dixon promise new purpose built rented housing
Permalink: Savills and Willmott Dixon promise new purpose built rented housing
by Gill Montia
June 21, 2011
Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, is calling on the country’s biggest mortgage lenders to back a self-build "revolution" and lend more to those who want to build their own homes.
According to the minister, much needed affordable and sustainable homes could result from ...
Lenders need to support self-build “revolution”
Permalink: Lenders need to support self-build “revolution”
by Gill Montia
June 20, 2011
Gross mortgage lending across the UK amounted to around £11.3 billion in May, with the figure up 12% on April but having increased only 1% compared with a year earlier.
According to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, interest in remortgaging ...
FirstBuy enters flat mortgage market
Permalink: FirstBuy enters flat mortgage market
by Gill Montia
June 9, 2011
Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, has announced Government plans to release enough public land to build up to 100,000 new homes, by 2015.
According to Mr Shapps, the amount of previously-developed publicly-owned land available is more than twice the size of ...
Surplus public land to provide 100,000 new homes
Permalink: Surplus public land to provide 100,000 new homes
by Gill Montia
Communities to receive new “green space” powers
Permalink: Communities to receive new “green space” powers
by Gill Montia
June 1, 2011
The latest Housing Pipeline report from the Home Builders' Federation (HBF) shows that in England, housing planning permissions granted for the first quarter of 2011 were at around half the level of five years ago.
Permissions for fewer than 34,000 ...
Undersupply of homes continues as planning permissions plummet
Permalink: Undersupply of homes continues as planning permissions plummet
by Gill Montia
May 12, 2011
The recession and Internet driven demise of the UK High Street is likely to bring permanent changes that could be of interest to housing developers.
According to the findings of a recent real estate seminar organised by the City Property Association and ...
High Street demise brings residential opportunities
Permalink: High Street demise brings residential opportunities
by Gill Montia
May 11, 2011
Countrywide has launched a specialist financial advisory service for the new homes sector.
The mortgage broker will be deploying over 70 mortgage consultants on housing developers' sites, seven days a week.
Chief executive, Grenville Turner, comments: "Our aim is to provide an ...
Countrywide launches on site new homes service
Permalink: Countrywide launches on site new homes service
by Gill Montia
May 8, 2011
Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, wants self-build to become a mainstream housing option and has promised to make publicly-owned land available to ordinary people who want to build their own homes.
According to the minister, self-builders (as a group) are already Britain's largest housebuilder, accounting ...
Government support for self-builders
Permalink: Government support for self-builders
by Gill Montia
April 27, 2011
A leading construction industry analyst has reported a sharp year-on-year decline in the underlying value of private housing project starts during the first quarter of 2011.
Overall, the Glenigan Index for March is down by 31% on a year earlier, with a ...
Sharp fall in private housing starts
Permalink: Sharp fall in private housing starts
by Gill Montia
April 14, 2011
The Government is funding advice for neighbourhoods that engage with the new planning measures that form part of its Localism Bill.
Planning minister, Greg Clark, has announced a £3.2 million scheme to enable communities keen to take charge of development in their ...
New advice scheme for neighbourhood planners
Permalink: New advice scheme for neighbourhood planners
by Gill Montia
April 7, 2011
Housebuilders may be able to benefit from the Government's recently announced Build Now, Pay Later deal, which is aimed at allowing work to get started on new homes without developers facing the expense of buying land upfront.
The scheme has been ...
Housebuilder cash-flow eased with government land deal
Permalink: Housebuilder cash-flow eased with government land deal
by Gill Montia
April 4, 2011
The Government has begun to trail neighbourhood planning measures that form part of its Localism Bill, in seventeen communities across England.
According to decentralisation minister, Greg Clark, neighbourhood planning gives local people a "real voice" when it comes to development in their area, from ...
Government trials “neighbourhood planning”
Permalink: Government trials “neighbourhood planning”
by Gill Montia
April 1, 2011
Bellway has made a bit of a comeback having sold 2,332 homes in the six months ended 31st January, up 4% on a year earlier.
Private sales numbered 1,784 (2010: 1,766) with a further 548 (2010: 481) dwellings sold to housing associations.
The group ...
Bellway experiences “traditional spring market”
Permalink: Bellway experiences “traditional spring market”
by Gill Montia
March 28, 2011
"Over the next decade around half a million homes will be built on redeveloped ex-industrial sites that could pose risks to homeowners and their homes."
The claim is made in a new report from home insurer, LV=, which reveals that brownfield land ...
Insurer wary of brownfield homes
Permalink: Insurer wary of brownfield homes
by Gill Montia
March 23, 2011
In today's Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced help for first-time buyers in the form of a £250 million shared-equity scheme.
Funded by income from the Bank Levy, the scheme aims to provide 10,000 families, as yet unable to ...
New shared equity scheme for first-time buyers
Permalink: New shared equity scheme for first-time buyers
by Gill Montia
March 20, 2011
Next month's Budget will contain measures that make it easier for commercial properties across England to be converted into private dwellings, the BBC has reported.
The move will cut the red tape involved in the planning process and could ...
Commercial to residential property conversions to be made easier
Permalink: Commercial to residential property conversions to be made easier
by Gill Montia