Friday, 03 October 2008Top stories this weekBeckett replaces Flint in cabinet reshuffle.....read more Nationwide house price index and 2008 quarter three review....read moreBank of England: Lending to individuals August 2008.....read moreHBF meets Grant Shapps at Conservative Party Conference.....read moreQuick LinksHousing market newsEconomic newsIndustry newsGovernment and political newsEventsHousing market newsNationwide house price index and 2008 quarter three reviewNationwide's house price index released this week reported that:The price of a typical house fell by 1.7% month-on-month, from £164,654 in August to £161,797 in SeptemberYear-on-year, the price of a typical house has fallen by 12.4%House prices will continue to fall in the short term, but longer term prospects are more soundCommenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist said:"House prices have now fallen for eleven consecutive months, but the monthly rate of fall has been almost unchanged in the last three months. The less volatile three-month-on-three-month series has also barely changed for the last three months, after accelerating for the first half of the year. This may suggest the beginning of some stabilisation in the pace of house price falls."The quarterly review also reported that:House prices were lower than a year earlier in all 13 UK regionsNorthern England was outperforming Southern England for the first time since 2005Northern Ireland continued to see the most rapid price declinesCommenting, Fionnuala Earley said:"Year-on-year price declines have reached double digits in six of the 13 regions, while the other seven regions have seen single digit falls of between 7.1% and 9.8%. Across the UK as a whole, the price of a typical property fell by 4.6% between the second and third quarters, taking the year-on-year decline to 10.3%. The annual decline is still slightly lower than the record 10.7% fall measured in the fourth quarter of 1990, but the quarter-on-quarter drop is the largest in the history of the Nationwide House Price Index."Download a copy of Nationwide's house price index Download a copy of the 2008 quarter three report to topLand Registry: House price indexThe annual rate of house price change in England and Wales was -4.6% in August taking prices to levels last seen in spring 2007, according to the latest figures from Land Registry. The average house price was £174,493 which is a decrease month-on-month of 1.9%.London also experienced a decrease in its average property value over the last 12 months, with a movement of -3.2% - taking the average London house price to £336,620.Hartlepool experienced the best annual change with an increase of 4.8%, taking its average property price to £117,350.The most up-to-date figures available show that during June 2008 the number of completed house sales fell by 56% to 54,072 from 123,293 in June 2007.Download a copy of the Land Registry house price index RICS: Gap between asking and selling prices is wideningAcross the UK, houses are selling at an average of 9% below the asking price with sellers in some regions being forced to accept as much as 12.5% discount off their advertised price, says RICS research published this week.Commenting, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist said:"With housing transactions currently at a 30 year low, many vendors are being forced to lower their asking prices to achieve a sale in an ever shrinking market or they are being forced to rent their property until the market picks up.""In recent surveys, Chartered Surveyors have reported that some buy-to-let investors are re-entering the market to take advantage of rising yields." "The gap between asking prices and selling prices could widen in the coming months as the downturn in the economy becomes more visible."Read more to topEconomic newsBank of England: Lending to individuals August 2008According to figures released by the Bank of England this week, the increase in total net lending to individuals in August (£1.4bn) was below the increase in July and the previous six-month average. The twelve-month growth rate slowed further, to 6.2%, and the three-month annualised growth rate fell by 1.0 percentage points to 2.6%.Within the total, the increase in net lending secured on dwellings (£0.1bn) was below the increase in July and the previous six-month average. The twelve-month growth rate slowed further, to 6.0%. The three-month annualised growth rate fell by 1.2 percentage points to 1.9%. The numbers of loans approved for house purchase (32,000), remortgaging (64,000) and for other purposes (39,000) were all lower than in July.The increase in net consumer credit in August (£1.2bn) was above that in July, but below the previous six month average. Net credit card lending rose by £0.7bn, above the increase in July. Net other loans and advances increased by £0.6bn, below the July increase. The annual growth rate of consumer credit slowed by 0.1 percentage points to 6.8% and the three-month annualised growth rate also slowed by 0.1 percentage points, to 6.1%. Read more to topCML comment on Bank of England mortgage dataCommenting on the Bank of England mortgage lending statistics, Council of Mortgage Lenders Director General Michael Coogan said:"The general downturn in lending will not have been helped by the speculation earlier in the year about stamp duty, which may have affected these figures.""Against this backdrop, lenders deserve recognition for attempting to maintain a flow of mortgages into the market despite pricing volatility, scarcity of funding, and falling house prices.""We welcome the Government's attempts to foster greater certainty in the current uncertain market, and we await with interest news of the Crosby recommendations on what measures may be planned to improve the mortgage funding market."Read more Coordinated central bank action to address pressures in global money marketsIn response to continued strains in short-term funding markets, central banks announced further coordinated actions to expand significantly the capacity to provide U.S. dollar liquidity. Central banks will continue to work together closely and are prepared to take appropriate steps as needed to address funding pressures.In parallel with other central banks, the Bank of England is increasing the size of its swap facility with the Federal Reserve to allow the provision of up to $80bn in dollar liquidity, should that be needed. There will be no immediate change in the size of the Bank's dollar operations under this facility, which amount to $40bn in total. The term of the swap arrangement has been extended until the end of April 2009. Read more to topBank of England: Credit Conditions SurveyThe Bank issued the results of its Credit Conditions Survey this week, in which lenders are asked about the past three months and the coming three months. The survey covers secured and unsecured lending to households and small businesses; and lending to non-financial corporations, and to non-bank financial firms. The key points were:Demand for secured lending for house purchase and for remortgaging was reported to have declined sharply over the past three months. Lenders expected that demand for secured lending would fall further.Lenders reported that they had reduced the availability of secured credit to households in the three months to mid-September by more than they had anticipated in the Q2 survey. A further decline in secured credit availability was expected over the next three months.Unsecured credit availability to households was reported to have been reduced in line with expectations three months ago. Lenders anticipated a further similar decrease in unsecured credit availability over the next three months.Download a copy of the Credit Conditions Survey to topIndustry newsHSE Safety Alert: Gas boilers - flues in voidsThe Health and Safety Executive has issued a Safety Alert aimed at builders, developers, property owners and occupiers about a carbon monoxide poisoning risk associated with flues for gas boilers.HBF has already written to members about this alert and provided guidance on how companies might tackle any risks in respect of homes sold recently, stock and homes under construction and homes built in future.Read the HBF member briefing Read the HSE Safety Alert to topResidential development land falls in value by up to a thirdThe value of urban development land outside London has fallen by 33% over the past year and by 15% in the past quarter alone, according to the newly established Knight Frank Residential Development Land Index.Greenfield sites have fared slightly better, with falls of 30% over the past year and 13% over the past three months.Jon Neale, Head of Development Research at Knight Frank said:"Over the past year, developers have put their land acquisition activities on hold, which has dramatically reduced demand for sites - by as much as 60% in some parts of the country.""Developers have found it almost impossible to access finance to buy land, while the pronounced slowdown in the sale of new homes has prompted them to reconsider the size of their future needs."Read more Call for action on rural housingThe National Housing Federation (NHF) and Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) warned this week that nearly 700,000 people are now on waiting lists for an affordable home in rural England.The NHF and CPRE launched a charter, "Save Rural England, Build Affordable Homes", containing an eight point blueprint, setting out how the supply of affordable homes could be significantly, and appropriately, increased in rural communities.NHF Chief Executive David Orr said: "The rural housing crisis is intensifying rapidly, with more and more people being priced out of the market and having to live in cramped and unsuitable conditions..."Without urgent action by ministers many of our villages are in danger of becoming the preserve of the rich and weekend playgrounds for second home owners, with schools, pubs and post offices at risk of closing because of a lack of customers."Read more to topGovernment and political newsBeckett replaces Flint in cabinet reshuffleGordon Brown today reshuffled his cabinet ahead of Parliament's recall next week and following Ruth Kelly's resignation last week from her position as Transport Secretary.Former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett replaces Caroline Flint as Housing Minister.The biggest surprise in the reshuffle was the return of Peter Mandelson as Secretary of State for Business. He replaces John Hutton who moves to defence as Des Browne stands down. The manoeuvres also see the creation of a new government department that will deal with the challenges of energy security and climate change and be headed up by Ed Miliband. Geoff Hoon replaces Kelly and Nick Brown becomes Chief Whip. Full details of the reshuffle will be available at http://www.number10.gov.uk/ Shapps: Labour has blocked the door to mobilitySpeaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Shadow Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, said: "Labour likes to claim to be the party of social justice... yet after 11 years, the gap between rich and poor has never been wider, social mobility at an all time low, people less able to escape poverty, a child's life-story written before they're even born.""But a great housing policy can help re-write that story. Break the shackles, provide real opportunity. We know that giving people the chance to own their home has provided opportunity for millions. And shared equity schemes are part of that solution. But this Government has blocked access to aspiration, bricked up the door to mobility...""Despite Labour's pledges, promises and targets, far fewer homes have been built under this Labour administration than during the previous Conservative Government...""So the next Conservative Government will incentivise development. Current planning law favours development whilst offering existing communities little in return. So I want to liberate Section 106 Agreements to provide benefits to those who welcome new development... we'll back local communities by supporting Community Land Trusts to create new housing with the benefits locked in for future generations."Read more to topStatement by the Chancellor regarding Bradford & Bingley plcThe Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that by order under the Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008, Bradford & Bingley's UK and Isle of Man retail deposit business along with its branch network has been transferred to Abbey National plc. This transfer follows a competitive auction process for this part of the business, conducted by Morgan Stanley on behalf of HM Treasury. The remainder of Bradford & Bingley's business will be taken into public ownership.Read more North West Regional Spatial StrategyThe new North West Regional Spatial Strategy was announced by Communities Minister Baroness Andrews this week.The Strategy is a vision for sustainable social and economic development in the North West up to 2021. It aims to raise the economic performance in the North West by supporting the provision of new job opportunities and reducing local inequalities. The Strategy sets out to deliver 416,000 new homes (23,111 a year from 2003 - 2021) to meet housing needs. With people living longer and more and more choosing to live alone households are projected to grow in the region by at least 25,600 per annum to 2026.Communities Minister Baroness Andrews said:"The North West needs a long-term strategy for boosting its economy, addressing housing need, and protecting the environment by tackling climate change.""We have an ageing population with more people choosing to live alone and new households are growing faster than new homes. If more homes are not built now the housing ladder will get even further out of reach.""The North West Plan sets out an achievable vision for reducing the social and economic disparities in the region while protecting its distinctive character and environment."Read more to topHBF meets Grant Shapps at Conservative Party ConferenceStewart Baseley and senior HBF members met Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP at the Conservative Party Conference this week. In a dedicated meeting, discussions were held on actions to assist the housing market and on future Conservative housing policy. It was agreed to follow up on specific points raised and to organise further meetings to build on this week's exchange of views. For the future, the details of how the Conservatives' vision of housing delivery based on "localism" would work will be a key area.Separately, John Slaughter held meetings with several other MPs and Prospective Parliamentary Candidates from target seats to explain the current issues facing the industry and to explore possible ways of joint working in local areas.to topEventsHousing Market IntelligenceWednesday 15 October - Savoy Place, LondonThe annual Housing Market Intelligence conference is the house building industry's leading event for discussion of the strategic and macro issues facing house builders and is a must for anyone involved in the business of house building.For further details please contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk Housebuilding Innovation Awards 2008Thursday 23 October - Millennium Mayfair Hotel, LondonNow in their fourth year, the Awards have become firmly established as the most coveted accolade in the UK house building industry. These awards recognise innovation among house builders and their suppliers in categories including ‘best sustainability initiative', ‘best innovation in technology' and ‘best initiative to first-time buyers/ key workers'. The glittering black tie event will this year be hosted by John Humphrys and takes place on 23 October in London. For further information visit www.hbmedia.co.uk or take advantage of the early booking discount before 22 August, by contacting the events team on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk. to topHBF Technical ConferenceWednesday 12 November, University of YorkThis year has seen the Government propose major changes to the way that Building Regulations are enforced. With many regulations under consultation, it is important to keep informed of current and future legislation. The morning section of the conference will provide delegates with up to date information on Parts G & L, the Code for Sustainable Homes as well as examining the future direction of travel for building regulations.The afternoon is to be devoted to the delivery of Zero Carbon Homes with the agenda to be set by the new Zero Carbon Hub. For further details please contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk For other HBF events visit the website http://www.hbf.co.uk/index.php?id=eventsandmeetingsFor HBM events visit http://www.hbmedia.co.uk/ to topRosie HinchliffeView Previous Weekly News Summary
