The Government is committed to helping more people achieve their aspirations of owning a home and wants to help boost housing supply by making self-build housing a mainstream option.

The proposed relief from paying the Community Infrastructure Levy would cover homes built or commissioned by individuals, families or groups of individuals for their own use and that will be owner-occupied.

Planning Minister Nick Boles said: "For too long, self-build homes have been seen as an option for only a privileged few and we are determined to change that with proposals that have the potential to save self-builders thousands of pounds.

"Our proposals would ensure Continue reading →

The £225million pot is part of the wider £474million Local Infrastructure Fund, designed to stimulate economic development and get sites moving.

As part of this, the minister announced a £24.7million loan to Reading University to help unlock a large-scale site in Wokingham near Reading.

The Wokingham site, planned with the local community, will deliver 2500 new homes, as well as two primary schools, a neighbourhood centre, shops, park and ride facilities and a new specialist Science and Research Park.

The investment will be used to build a new access road and bridge to link the new development to Wokingham town centre itself.

Wokingham is the Continue reading →

While the lack of viable developable land with planning permission has been the most serious long-term barrier to housing delivery, in the short term mortgage lending has been more significant.

In this area too, 2013 has brought progress. The Government-backed NewBuy scheme has gained considerable traction, with a weekly average of 130 reservations, almost double last year’s average, resulting in a current cumulative total of more than 3700 reservations. The doubling of reservations under NewBuy this year has come in partnership with a general lowering of mortgage rates – triggered by the Funding for Lending Scheme – making home ownership more affordable.

Signs Continue reading →

Commenting on the data, Steven Lees, Director of SmartNewHomes, said:
 
“The housebuilding industry has had a positive start to 2013, with pent up buyer demand for new homes at the end of last year underpinning price growth in January. Confidence in the new homes market is also exhibited in strong annual price growth of 1.4% recorded last month.
 
“However, the issue of supply remains the biggest issue facing the industry. Although there were more new homes available to January buyers than the same time last year 2012’s total output was 11% down on the previous year according to Continue reading →

Shelter’s Chief Executive Campbell Robb said:

‘This Government promised to get Britain building, yet today’s figures show house building has hit record lows.

‘Ultimately, it’s ordinary people who pay the price, with families struggling to meet ever-rising rents and young couples unable to get on the housing ladder no matter what they do.

‘The slump in our construction industry is one of the main reasons we’re facing the threat of a triple-dip recession.

‘We can build our way of out of this, but the Government has to use next month’s budget to unlock the finance to deliver more genuinely affordable family homes.

‘Unless action is taken Continue reading →

The 20 fastest selling schemes in the capital over the last year include developments across a wide range of values. They start at Academy Central in Barking, which averages £260 per square foot, and goes up to Fitzroy Place, which is selling for an average of £1850 per square foot. Fitzroy Place generated £290million last year as 175 apartments sold in just eight months.
 
Mark Collins, Head of Residential at CBRE, said: "Although there is a wide range of price points in London’s fastest selling developments, they do have some factors in common. These schemes are all substantial in Continue reading →

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: "It is clear from the Deputy Prime Minister’s recent comments that Government now realises the wider economic benefits that capital investment via construction can bring, however it must do more to unleash the potential in our industry by pulling the right levers.

"Our members are ready to help Britain build its way back to growth, in the process helping meet the spiraling housing crisis and improving energy efficiency in homes and businesses. But we can’t do this alone. Government must meet construction firms halfway, and find imaginative new ways of increasing activity in the Continue reading →

With employment continuing to fall in the last three months of  2012, coupled with the rising cost of overheads such as wages and materials, building firms believe the outlook for 2013 is bleak.

The survey shows that builders’ workloads decreased last year, and are expected to keep falling at least for the first half of 2013. However, the rate at which workloads and employment in the housing sector fell did slow in the fourth quarter of last year, with many specialist trades reporting the first rise in employment since early 2011. In the non-residential sector there were no such signs of encouragement. Continue reading →

* A total of 52 nationalities bought new-build property in central London last year. The most active overseas buyers (ranked by number of transactions) of central London new homes are from Singapore (23%), Hong Kong (16%), China (5%), Malaysia (4%) and Russia (3%);

* UK buyers remain the largest nationality group, with a 27% market share;

* 33% of international  investors buying off-plan do so to provide children attending London universities with a base in the city.

Knight Frank has identified three major factors that have underpinned the appetite for property in London: first, the capital growth potential and opportunity for investment diversification; second, Continue reading →

The latest statistics follow the announcement at NHBC’s Annual Lunch last week by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, where he vowed to provide increased support to the sector with a £225m funding boost, with an emphasis on establishing a new generation of locally-driven "garden cities".

Richard Tamayo, NHBC Commercial Director said: "Our figures show there remains a clear deficit in the number of new homes being built in the UK compared to last year. However, we are greatly encouraged by the Government’s recent commitment to back the industry and provide new funding, particularly to unlock almost 50,000 homes on stalled sites. Continue reading →