Friday, 2nd October 2009 Top stories this week John Healey's speech to the 2009 Labour Party Annual Conference.....read more “Mind the Gap – Housing Supply in a Cold Climate”.....read more Bank of England: Lending to Individuals August 2009.....read more Nationwide: House prices now at the same level as September 2008.....read more New orders in the construction industry, August 2009.....read more Quick LinksWales news Government and political news Economic news Housing market news Industry news Events Wales news First Minister to step down The Right Hon. Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister for Wales, has announced that he is to stand down as leader of the Labour Party in Wales. The leadership selection process is expected to last around seven or eight weeks and will begin this week. Throughout this period, Mr Morgan remains First Minister for Wales. This will be the case until the National Assembly nominates a new First Minister and that nomination is approved by Her Majesty the Queen. Further information will be available on the WAG website when the current First Minister steps down later this year. Read more to top Planning for a post-recession Welsh economy The Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones stated that it is time to think hard about the approach the WAG wants to take in terms of economic development in Wales when the recession is over. The Deputy First Minister said that as well as continuing to implement the current counter recession measures, the Welsh Assembly Government was now looking at the action required to create a stronger, more sustainable economy for the future. Read more to top £38m to transform Wales’ Waterfront City – Swansea A £38m plus project to transform and revitalise Swansea's city centre and its unique waterfront has been given the go-ahead for Convergence funding, Deputy Minister for Regeneration, Leighton Andrews told Swansea business and civic leaders this week. The funding package includes £28m from the Welsh Assembly Government, including £20m from the EU’s Convergence European Regional Development Fund and funding from other sources. The massive investment sees the city benefit from its designation as a Strategic Regeneration Area and will help drive forward the ambitious City Centre Strategic Framework – the blue print designed to regenerate the city centre, maximise the potential of Swansea’s waterfront and link the city centre to the bay. Read more to top Wales Regeneration Summit The second Wales Regeneration Summit will be held at Venue Cymru, Llandudno on 22nd- 23rd October 2009. The Welsh Assembly Government has organised the event to bring together senior regeneration professionals from the public and private sector in order to: Discuss current approaches to regeneration in Wales; Hear from a wide range of national and international expert speakers on current and relevant topics; Examine innovative projects and initiatives that are effecting real change; Learn about responses to the economic downturn and the unique opportunities that Wales offers; Debate and network with the Welsh Assembly Government, local authorities, developers and investors. For more information and booking please visit the website please click here to top Government and political news John Healey's speech to the 2009 Labour Party Annual Conference Speaking at the annual Labour Party Conference in Brighton this week, Housing Minister John Healey said that Labour would continue to back housing developers and kickstart house building sites that have stalled. He also said affordable homes would continue to be delivered via Government backing to housing associations and councils, pledging that there would be more new council homes starts this year than in any other for two decades. In a new announcement, Mr Healey said: “I am launching a second round of funding for councils that are ready to help build the new affordable homes we need in this country. I’m inviting bids by the end of next month. And before Christmas I aim to give the go ahead to at least 1200 extra council homes. “At this time of all times, with pressure on the public finances, I want to make sure we use the power of public investment to the full. So I’ve told all private developers and all housing associations that we will now require apprenticeships and local jobs as a condition of public funding. And I will require the same of councils. “A total of 3000 extra apprenticeships over the next two years. This is what it means to get the most for every taxpayers’ pound, as we – your Labour government – invest now to help the country through recession; invest now in the homes and jobs and skills the country needs for the future.” The latest funding for councils totals £180m and comes on top of money already allocated as part of the Prime Minister's £1.5bn Housing Pledge - announced as part of Building Britain's Future. Mr Healey wrote to all council leaders in England encouraging them to consider submitting bids to deliver around £180m of investment that could fund construction of a further 1,200 new council homes, create or safeguard 7,500 new jobs and over 180 apprenticeship places. Read more to top “Mind the Gap – Housing Supply in a Cold Climate” “Mind the Gap” a discussion paper by David Pretty CBE and Paul Hackett for the Smith Institute, the Town and Country Planning Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers, was launched at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference in Brighton, and will also be presented at next week's Conservative Party conference. With a General Election on the horizon, public budgets under strain and housing supply at its lowest in living memory, “Mind the Gap” aims to help politicians, decision-makers and opinion-formers understand all the issues and to encourage them to maintain housing investment at a vitally important time. Estimating that pent-up demand for homes is now approaching 1 million, the paper warns that failing to address the problem comprehensively could have very serious economic and social consequences. Mind the Gap examines the issues, places them in context and discusses both potential outcomes and feasible solutions. Download a copy of Mind the Gap to top HBF: “Mind the Gap” – too many are already falling into it - 1 million housing shortfall identified Commenting on “Mind the Gap” in a press release, the HBF called for all political parties to prioritise action to tackle the critical issues identified in the report. HBF stated that, “As the party conference season continues and political attention begins to focus on the forthcoming general election, the severity of the nation’s housing supply problem should be an issue that commands a clear policy response from all the parties. “Mind the Gap” provides a balanced and authoritative analysis of the scale and reasons for the housing supply crisis and sets out a clear agenda for improvement so that both private and public housing providers can better meet demand and work more effectively together. “Housing output dropped alarmingly in the last year, primarily as a result of the economic downturn and the resultant lack of mortgage availability. This has exacerbated a much longer-term supply shortfall caused by insufficient developable land coming through the planning system. Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the HBF commented: “The “Mind the Gap” report is an extremely useful analysis of the current position in which the house building industry finds itself as it strives to deliver much needed housing in the current political and economic climate. The shortfalls in housing provision that it identifies, and the harmful social and economic repercussions that result clearly demonstrate the need for politicians to be developing strong policies that enable the housing this country clearly needs to be delivered” Read more to top HBF at the Labour Party Conference John Healey and a number of MPs with an interest in housing issues attended a dinner hosted by Stewart Baseley and Michael Ankers of the Construction Products Association at this week’s Labour Party Conference. The Minister set out his wish to continue to work closely with the industry and recognised the challenges entailed in delivering sufficient homes that people could afford while meeting environmental and other objectives. The discussion also provided an opportunity to brief politicians on current conditions, the issues faced by the industry and to explain the challenges for both builders and suppliers in achieving a future zero carbon standard. HBF Director of External Affairs John Slaughter separately held a series of bilateral discussions with other Ministers, MPs, advisers from No 10, councillors, think tanks and other trade bodies during the Conference – including a short conversation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the business reception on HBF’s wishes for the forthcoming Pre-Budget Report. to top Economic news Bank of England: Lending to Individuals August 2009 According to the latest data released by the Bank of England this week total net lending to individuals rose by £0.7bn in August, in line with the previous six-month average. The twelve-month growth rate continued to fall, by 0.1 percentage points to 0.8%, and the three-month annualised growth rate remained at 0.2%. Within the total, net lending secured on dwellings rose by £1.0bn, above July’s net repayment of £0.2bn and above the previous six-month average of £0.6bn. The twelve-month growth rate ticked up by 0.1 percentage points to 0.9%. The three-month annualised growth rate increased to 0.4%. Within total secured lending, secured lending by banks (excluding the effects of securitisations) increased by £2.7bn, above the £2.3 bn increase in July and in line with the six-month average of £2.6bn. The number of loan approvals for house purchase (52,317) was in line with the July figure and above the previous six-month average, whereas approvals for remortgaging (29,059) were below the July figure of 33,880 and lower than the previous six-month average. The number of loans approved for other purposes (26,256) was lower than in July and below the previous six-month average. Consumer credit fell by a net £0.3bn, below the previous six month average. Credit card lending increased by a net £0.2bn and other loans and advances fell by £0.5bn. The annual growth rate of consumer credit continued to fall, to 0.7%. Read more to top CML comment on Bank of England data Commenting on the latest lending data from the Bank of England, CML Economist Paul Samter said: “Net lending turned positive in August, and for the first eight months of the year it has totalled £5.5 bn. Housing market activity has flattened off, but remains stable and well above the very low levels seen a year ago. “The weak economy and limited capacity to lend is continuing to restrict further improvement and we expect lending to remain subdued.” Read more to top CBI: UK high street sales stabilise Conditions in the retail sector are beginning to stabilise, with sales broadly flat in the year to September, and expected to remain unchanged in October according to CBI’s monthly Distributive Trades Survey. Responding to the latest survey, 39% of retailers said year-on-year sales volumes rose in September, while 36% said they fell. The resulting balance of +3% was better than expected, and follows four consecutive months of falling sales. Looking forward to October, retailers expect sales will remain broadly flat compared with a year ago. Volumes of orders placed with suppliers fell very modestly (a balance of -4%), the slowest rate since February 2008. They are expected to stabilise next month (+1%). The three-month moving average of sales volumes, which smooths out monthly peaks and troughs, improved on the previous month, a balance of -9%, compared with -16% in August. However, despite sales volumes stabilising, a net 22% of firms described them as below average for the time of year. Inventory levels remained low, with a net 3% of retailers reporting volumes of stocks to be slightly more than adequate to meet expected demand, compared with a zero balance in August. Read more to top ONS: Quarterly national accounts 2nd quarter 2009 According to the latest quarterly national accounts published by the Office for National Statistics, the UK gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms fell by 0.6% compared with the previous quarter, revised from a fall of 0.7% published last month. The level of GDP is now 5.5% lower than the second quarter of 2008. Read more to top Housing market news Nationwide: House prices now at the same level as September 2008 The Nationwide house price index, published this week, reported that: House prices rose by 0.9% in September, from £160,224 in August to £161, 816, the fifth consecutive monthly increase; The high supply of rental property raised questions about durability of price recovery. Commenting on the figures Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “The recent upward momentum in house prices has continued into September, with the price of a typical house increasing by 0.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The 3 month on 3 month rate of change – generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend – rose from 3.3% in August to 3.8% in September, the highest level since August 2004. At £161,816, the average price of a typical UK property was essentially unchanged from a year earlier, representing the first time since March 2008 that the year-on-year rate of change has not been negative. Over the first nine months of 2009, the seasonally adjusted index of house prices has risen by 4.1%, though relative to the October 2007 peak it is still down by 13.5%. “The further increase in house prices is very much consistent with improvements in a broad range of economic and financial indicators over the last few months, all of which suggest that the most intense phase of the recession and financial crisis has probably passed. However, given that the housing market still faces considerable headwinds in the form of high unemployment, restrictive credit conditions and an impending withdrawal of the stamp duty holiday, it would be surprising to see house prices continuing to increase at the very strong rate seen in recent months.” Read more to top BSA: Mortgage lending remains subdued According to the latest data from the Building Societies Association, gross lending by the 52 UK building societies in August 2009 was £1.5bn, and building societies’ approvals totalled £1.3bn in August 2009. Commenting on the figures, Adrian Coles, BSA Director-General, said: “Gross lending was subdued in August, but appears to be at broadly similar levels to recent months after seasonal factors are adjusted for. However, the market remains very depressed compared to previous years. “Despite signs of a modest improvement in market conditions in recent months, activity will not return to normal levels until funds for mortgage lending are more widely available to building societies and other lenders.” Key data includes: Building society gross lending was £1,494m in August 2009* compared to £2,660m in August 2008; Net lending by building societies in August 2009 was -£655m compared to -£14m in August 2008; Mortgage approvals in August 2009 were £1,264m compared to £2,880m in August 2008; Excluding any interest added to building society savings accounts, £473m was withdrawn in August 2009, compared to a net receipt of £708 million in August 2008; Building societies had a net receipt of £737m into Cash ISAs in August 2009, compared to net withdrawal of £292 million in August 2008. * Note: Figures for August 2009 exclude Britannia, as Britannia merged with The Co-operative Financial Services at the start of the month and is no longer classified as a building society. August 2008 data includes Britannia. Read more to top Land Registry house price index The August data from Land Registry shows a fairly flat market with a monthly house price change of -0.1%. The annual drop of 9.4% – up from a low of 16.3% in February – takes the average house price in England and Wales to £155,968. London and the West Midlands experienced the greatest monthly price rise with a movement of 0.8%. The average property price in the capital is now £310,640. All regions experienced a decrease in their average property values over the last 12 months. The region with the most significant annual price fall was the North West with a movement of -12.7%. Hartlepool experienced the greatest annual price fall with a drop of 23.7%. Although the most up-to-date figures available show that during June 2009 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales fell by 17% to 48,903 from 58,636 in June 2008, monthly sales in England and Wales have risen steadily during the first half of the year - up from 26,517 in January. Read more to top Industry news New orders in the construction industry, August 2009 According to the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics, construction orders in the three months to August 2009 fell by 4% compared with the previous three month period. Orders in the 12 months to August 2009 fell by 23% compared with the previous 12 months and orders in the three months to August 2009 fell by 9% compared with the same period a year earlier. In the three months to August 2009, compared with the same period a year earlier, private housing orders fell by 22% but public and housing association housing orders rose by 9%. All orders figures quoted are seasonally adjusted and in constant (2005) prices. Private housing orders in the three months to August 2009 fell by 23% compared with the previous three month period. Private housing orders in the year to August 2009 fell by 45% compared with those in the previous 12 months. Public housing and housing association orders in the three months to August 2009 rose by 52% compared with the previous three month period. Public housing and housing association orders fell by 16% in the 12 months to August 2009 compared with the previous 12 months. All comparisons in this sector are affected by large variations due to its relatively small size. Read more to top Further sustainability appraisal of Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West The Government has given the go-ahead to a further appraisal of whether proposals for the Regional Spatial Strategy for South West England (SW RSS) are the most sustainable way forward for the Region. Since the Regional Assembly submitted the draft RSS to the Government in June 2006, it has been the subject of extensive public debate and consultation. The Government had expected to issue the final version at the end of June 2009. In May, the High Court issued a judgment that the Sustainability Appraisal of the East of England RSS (EoE RSS) had failed to test reasonable alternatives to two of its proposals, and has remitted those proposals to the Government to reconsider them. In the light of this judgment, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Government Office for the South West have looked again at the Sustainability Appraisal of the SW RSS, and whether they have tested reasonable alternatives to modifications introduced following the Examination in Public (EiP). The Government wishes to be satisfied that the Sustainability Appraisal of last year’s Proposed Changes to the SW RSS tested reasonable alternatives to those Areas of Search for strategic housing, business and other development which were added or amended following consideration of the EiP Panel's report. It has therefore decided to carry out a new Sustainability Appraisal, to ensure that alternatives to these elements of the proposals are properly tested and represent the most sustainable way forward for the Region. The new Appraisal is expected to take until early in the New Year. The Government has similarly decided to conduct further Sustainability Appraisal of the EoE RSS. Read more Download a copy of the proposed changes to the RSS to top CLG: Housing in England 2007-08 This report is based on information from the 15,622 households interviewed for the Survey of English Housing Survey (SEH) beginning April 2007. It also contains some analysis of housing-related data from the Labour Force Survey and the Family Resources Survey. Key findings are: Owner occupation continues to be the most common housing tenure in England, with 14.6 million owner-occupiers in 2008. This represents 68.3% of all households in England, down from 69.6% in 2007 and a high of 70.9% in 2003. The rate of homeownership last stood at 68.3% in 1993; In 2008 there were also an estimated 3.8 million social renters (17.7% - unchanged) and 3.0 million private renters (13.9% - up from 12.7% in 2007); From 1993-94 to 2007-08, the proportion of young householders aged 25 to 29 who were private renters rose from 19% to 38% while the proportion that were owner occupiers fell from 60% to 38%; Around 2.4 million households moved home during the 12 months prior to being interviewed (in 2007-08). Of these 390,000 (17% of the total) were newly-formed households - of whom 20% moved into social housing, 34% became homeowners and 47% moved into the private rented sector; Read more to top CLG: English house condition survey - 2007 annual report This report, published by Communities and Local Government (CLG), presents detailed findings from the 2007 survey on the housing conditions and energy performance of the stock. The report included the following highlights: The energy efficiency of the housing stock has steadily improved from 42 SAP points in 1996 to 50 in 2007; In 2007, 41% of homes were in the more efficient Energy Efficient Rating Bands A-D compared with only 19% of homes in 1996. The proportion of homes in the least energy efficient Bands F and G nearly halved over this period (from 36% to 19%); Social sector homes were more energy efficient with a SAP rating of 58 compared with 48 for the private sector and the rate of energy efficiency improvement since 1996 has been greater in the social sector; Housing conditions for private sector 'vulnerable' households have improved year on year since 2001, although private tenants remain more likely to live in non-decent homes accommodation than vulnerable owners (52% compared to 35% respectively); The services and amenities homes provide continued to improve. They were more likely to have a second WC (9.0 million) and a second bath/shower (4.6 million) than in 1996. Smoke alarms were present in the houses of 85% of households in 2007, up from 67% in 1996. 88% of social households had smoke alarms compared to 85% private sector households. Read more to top Keep up to date with industry developments from Housebuilder news Housebuilder is now operating a news alert service. The updates contain the latest information from within the house building industry - all you need to do is register! Recent alerts have included; • England faces 1 million home shortfall • House prices rise 0.2% - Hometrack • Free Building Regs consultation workshop for housebuilders To register for the FREE service go to www.house-builder.co.uk to top Events How did your New Homes Week go? take the survey and enter to WIN an iPod nano We are currently reviewing the work undertaken for New Homes Week and would appreciate your feedback and comments on the work carried out by the New Homes Marketing Board and the success of the week itself. This will enable us to make a more informed decision on the format of any future such initiatives. *All completed surveys returned by the 9th October will be entered into a prize draw to win the new apple iPod nano 8gb. The survey is short and simple and takes just a couple of minutes to answer. Please click here to complete the survey. Alternatively, if you would prefer to fill out the survey by hand please click here to print off the PDF and return either by post or fax. We will be contacting you separately with regard to the new-homes.co.uk portal, which will remain free of charge to participating companies for the time being. To ensure your feedback reaches us please complete by 9th October. The winner of the prize draw will be announced via email on 12th October. to top Housing Market Intelligence Conference – BOOK NOW! 1 week left to book! Savoy Place, London -Tuesday 13th October 2009 Housing Minister John Healey has now been confirmed as a speaker for October’s HMI Conference completing a heavy weight line up of expert speakers for the industry’s leading annual policy conference. Confirmed speakers now include: John Healey MP, Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP, Shadow Housing Minister Sir Bob Kerslake, Homes & Communities Agency Stewart Baseley, HBF Michael Coogan, Council of Mortgage Lenders John Stewart, HBF Imtiaz Farookhi, NHBC For further information or a booking form please contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or visit www.house-builder.co.uk to top Housebuilding Innovation Awards 2009 - BOOK NOW! 5 weeks left to book and limited spaces available. Housebuilder Media is delighted to announce that Gyles Brandreth, broadcaster, journalist and ex MP, will be presenting at the Housebuilding Innovation Awards on Thursday 5th November 2009. The shortlist for the Awards was unveiled earlier this month, and reveals the outstanding innovative achievements the industry has made in the past year. Click here for full details The Awards, which are supported by the Government, have become among the most sought after in the industry as they recognise excellence in innovation in all aspects of the housebuilding business. The culmination of the Awards is the announcement of the housebuilding firms deemed to be the overall Innovators of the Year –previous winners have included Redrow, Barratt, Explore Living and Midas. The winners will be announced at a glittering black tie awards ceremony on Thursday 5th November at the Millennium London Mayfair Hotel. For further information or a booking form please contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or visit www.house-builder.co.uk to top HBF Annual Technical Conference 2009 – The TechnoCentre, Coventry The Building Regulatory Agenda – from here to 2016 Wednesday 18th November 2009 The conference aims to look at the forthcoming amendments to the Building Regulations, addressing CLG’s policy overview and in particular concentrating on the recent Parts F & L consultation. Expert speakers from CLG, BRAC, NHER, Zero Carbon Hub and BRE will be there to answer your questions on all building regulation issues. For further information please visit www.house-builder.co.uk or contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 to top WHAT HOUSE? Awards 2009 – gala presentation luncheon Tickets and tables are now available for the 2009 What House? Awards, taking place at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on Friday 20th November. The event is one of the highlights of the house building calendar, as the industry meets to salute the best new homes in Britain. To book your seats for this prestigious event please email Derek Smith. Or download a booking form at www.whathouse.co.uk/awards to top 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 top Rosie Hinchliffe/Steve Turner View Previous Weekly News Summary
