London house prices reach ‘unaffordable’ levels – even for top earners December 9, 2024 Even the richest people in London are being priced out of the property market as house prices reach record levels, the Office for National Statistics has found. “In London, the average home was not affordable for any household income decile,” the statistics watchdog said in its latest Housing Purchase Affordability index, using 2023 data. The [...]
How to build affordable housing December 9, 2024 Any plan to actually deliver the 1.5m homes the government has committed to must be guided by pragmatism, not dogma – and lower targets for affordable housing can often result in more actually getting built, says Marc Vlessing The sudden departure of both senior leaders at Homes England is an opportunity to rethink the role [...]
Newts can’t be ‘more protected than people who need housing’, Rayner says December 8, 2024 Angela Rayner has said the UK should not be in a situation where “newts are more protected than people” who need housing, ahead of a government shake-up of planning. The deputy Prime Minister suggested protecting the country’s wildlife should not always be prioritised over building new homes, after Sir Keir Starmer last week reiterated his [...]
Construction projects in London dipped but developer optimism remained November 28, 2024 Construction projects in London dipped this year, but positive signals like lower interest rates and easing construction cost inflation have boosted optimism amongst developers. The number of construction projects started between April and September this year fell by 12 per cent, with refurbishments down 57 per cent, according to the Deloitte London office crane survey. [...]
Khan unveils plan to make housing affordable for key workers November 25, 2024 Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a consultation on plans to make housing more affordable for Londoners. Khan has proposed rents based on 40 per cent of key workers’ average household incomes, with rent rises potentially linked to wage growth. The proportion of a key worker’s income needed to cover rent on a median one-bedroom property [...]
Affordable housebuilding in London down 88 per cent in dent to Khan’s rep November 24, 2024 The number of affordable homes built in London between April 2023 and March this year fell by 88 per cent, despite continued promises from Mayor Sadiq Khan to boost the supply of housing in the capital. Just over 3,100 affordable housing builds began work across Greater London between April 2023 and March of this year, [...]
Housing crisis ‘hampers growth’ but minister vows 1.5m target on track November 20, 2024 The UK’s housing crisis “hampers economic growth and productivity”, the housing minister has said, as he insisted the target of 1.5m new homes can be achieved. Labour pledged in its manifesto ahead of the election to deliver the 1.5m net additional dwellings over the course of the Parliament, ending in 2029. It came in response [...]
Crest Nicholson: Housebuilder pivots away from low-margin affordable homes November 20, 2024 Housebuilder Crest Nicholson has said it will trade away from low-margin sites – like affordable homes – as it looks to shore up its balance sheet after a tough year. Crest told markets this morning, it built 1,873 homes in the year ended October 31, of which 45 per cent were affordable – just under the [...]
Use development orders to tackle housing crisis, ministers told November 15, 2024 The UK government should use development orders to circumvent the planning regime, build homes and address the housing crisis, a new report has argued. Ministers should deploy existing powers – known as local development orders, which allow specific development in certain areas without a planning application – to turbocharge housebuilding, the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) [...]
The real reason Britain doesn’t build November 11, 2024 Planning isn’t the only reason we have a housing shortage, too many developments just aren’t economically viable, says Melanie Leech The government is undoubtedly right to focus its efforts on reforming the planning system. Ask the anyone in the property industry and they will say that the system is complex, burdensome, under-resourced, and prone to [...]