Figures released today by the National House Building Council (NHBC), the UK’s largest provider of new home warranties and insurance, show 21,967 new homes were registered to be built in Q1 2024, down 20% on Q1 2023 (27,619). 26,240 new homes were completed in the same period, 13% down on Q1 2023 (30,071). Despite the […]
New polling by YouGov, commissioned by CPRE, the countryside charity, has revealed that half of people who object to new housing in their local area would support them if the homes were affordable to people on average local incomes. Whereas 41% said they did not want to see the construction of more homes close to […]
A Freedom of Information (FOI) exercise undertaken by the Home Builders Federation has found that more than £50m of taxpayer money was spent on external legal advice on planning appeals over the past three years. The money comprises spending by individual councils and by the Planning Inspectorate, an executive agency of the Department for Levelling […]
Hanley Economic Building Society has announced the introduction of a two-year interest-only self-build variable discount mortgage with an initial pay rate of 6.15%, available up to 70% LTV. This comes with a non-refundable application fee of £299, an arrangement fee of £1,199 – which is deducted from the loan on completion – and a valuation […]
The funds have been provided to the 39,000-home social landlord by existing lenders, including Barclays, NatWest and Nationwide, as well as new partners, ABN AMRO and HSBC. The new revolving credit facilities (RCFs) run for 5-10 years. Through this funding process, Stonewater has optimised its financial covenant package with both new and existing funding, unlocking […]
The government has announced that councils will be able to buy land for development using Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) without paying inflated ‘hope value’ costs. Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “We have been calling for new compulsory purchase powers since the government implemented our subdivision of large sites […]
Commenting on the latest construction insolvency statistics Kelly Boorman, national head of construction at RSM UK, said: “In the 12 months to February 2024, construction experienced the highest number of insolvencies above any other industry. Given the acute pressures the industry is facing, we can expect this number to continue rising. Pipelines are full with many businesses […]
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Despite the UK housing market sitting on uncertain ground, Taylor Wimpey’s made a solid start to 2024 with the Spring selling season progressing as expected. Affordability pressures remain a key issue to wrestle with, but the group called out good mortgage availability and sustained consumer confidence as tailwinds supporting […]
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) put the spotlight on skills yesterday, when it hosted its members at the Houses of Parliament for a reception focused on ensuring the provision of quality support and improving access to training and talent are identified as top policy priorities. In a room full of a experts from all corners […]
National housebuilder Barratt Homes has been successful in purchasing a large new site in Livingston from Network Rail Property. Site One at Appleton Parkway extends to 15.8 acres and will deliver 132 much needed new homes with 25% of these being affordable in a well-located, high demand area of Livingston. Robin Dobson, group property director […]
