Friday, 1st May 2009 Top stories this week Land Registry – house prices fall more slowly...read more BBA – Lending continues to grow, but mortgage lending down.....read more No European agreement on working time directive.....read more Eco-towns consultation closes.....read more Innovation Awards 2009 – ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 15TH........read more HBF meets Welsh Housing Minister.......read more Quick LinksWales news Economic news Government and political news Industry news Events Wales news HBF and Members meet Jocelyn Davies AM On Thursday 30th April, HBF and members met with the Deputy Housing Minister Jocelyn Davies to discuss housing delivery and issues surrounding the current market climate. We provided the Minister with an update of the current market situation and made her aware of the major challenges the industry faces at present. The discussions were positive and constructive and we reached agreement with the Assembly Government that a coordinated approach to tackling the issues was fundamental to achieving success. The Minister agreed to consider a number of proposals that were put forward at the meeting to assist industry activity and agreed to meet with the HBF and members on a regular basis, in order to ensure that any assistance from the Assembly Government is targeted in the best and most efficient ways to help the industry. We will be contacting members separately about follow up actions arising from this week’s meeting. to top Families move into new affordable homes Jocelyn Davies AM, Deputy Minister for Housing, this week met some of the first people to move into new social housing bought with some of the £42M funding provided by the Assembly Government, aimed at helping to boost the economy. The money has been given to Housing Associations to create up to 500 new affordable homes. This will help the Assembly Government to reach its ambitious target of creating 6,500 more affordable homes. Read more to top Consultation on housing association regulations in Wales announced A consultation on the regulations that govern housing associations in Wales was announced this week by Deputy Housing Minister Jocelyn Davies AM. Read more to top Economic news Land Registry/ Nationwide – house prices fall more slowly Monthly house prices in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in March, compared to a fall in February of 2 per cent according to the latest figures from Land Registry. The average house price is now £152,895, representing an annual decrease of 16.2 per cent. Read more Figures from the Nationwide House Price Survey were also published this week and also show that the price of a typical house fell by 0.4% in April. Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “The price of a typical house fell by 0.4% in April. This reverses some of the rise seen in March, but is in line with our expectations, given the current economic conditions. April’s decline leaves the average price of a typical house at £151,861, down 15% from 12 months ago. The 3-month on 3-month rate of change, generally a smoother indicator of the short-term trend in prices, improved to -3.1% in April from -4.1% in March. The scheme for government guarantees for new, high-quality residential mortgage backed securities is welcome and may help to boost the amount of mortgage credit available. However, since the availability of credit is only part of the reason why the housing market is in the doldrums it is unlikely to lead to a swift turnaround in its fortunes. Lenders have already indicated that the availability of credit is less of an issue than it has been, but at the same time expect that the demand for secured lending will fall further. Given the weakness of the economy and the expected further increase in unemployment this comes as no surprise.” Read more to top BBA – Lending continues to grow, but mortgage lending down According to figures published by the British Bankers Association this week, lending to households continues to grow as banks make funds available for people who meet their lending criteria, but consumer confidence is fragile and unlikely to change demand in the near-term. However, net mortgage lending dropped slightly on the previous month’s figure from £3.9bn to £3.7bn. Within this, the value of house purchase loans approved fell from £3.5bn to £3.3bn and the number of mortgages approved for purchase fell from 28,024 to 26,097. BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said of the latest data: “Lending to households continues to grow, as banks make funds available for people who meet their lending criteria but consumer confidence is fragile and unlikely to change demand markedly in the near-term. The banks’ figures also show it would be unrealistic to expect the mortgage market to recover in a steady and consistent way in the current economic environment.” Read more to top CBI Distributive Trades Survey The CBI's latest Distributive Trades Survey showed that retail sales volumes were broadly flat in the year to April, after twelve consecutive months of decline. However, sales were still below average for the time of year and are expected to fall once again next month - albeit at a much slower rate than has been seen in recent surveys. Read more to top Government and political news Trade Credit Insurance – Government Assistance in Budget The trade credit insurance market has been severely curtailed as a result of the credit crisis and whilst this insurance is of little direct benefit to members in dealing with house purchasers, the Government action announced in the Budget may be of assistance to material suppliers and contractors if they find their insurance withdrawn or cut-back. The Government will offer to top-up private sector trade credit cover for 6 months (to December 2009) for the 14,000 businesses that already use this insurance. This should mitigate against disruption in the supply chain and cash flow. The Association of British Insurers has issued a useful “statement of principles for trade credit insurance” click here to view to top Bill receives its third reading The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL] received its third reading in the House of Lords this week. It is this Bill which contains the proposals to integrate the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Regional Economic Strategy into one Integrated Regional Strategy produced by the RDAs and Regional Leaders Panels. (ie: the removal of power from the Regional Assemblies). Some regions have already set up Leaders’ panels (NE, NW, Y&H, SE) and the SW is about to. East of England and the Midlands are waiting for the new legislation. to top Mayor’s London proposals published On 29th April “A new plan for London - Proposals for the Mayor’s London Plan” was published for initial consultation with the London Assembly and the GLA Group. This document sets out the principles the Mayor will follow when preparing the new plan, the full draft of which will be published for public consultation in Autumn 2009. It is intended that the final version of the new London Plan will be published in the winter of 2011-12. Housing provision will be based on the recent Strategic Housing Market Assessment (which indicated a need for 33,000 new dwellings per year), NHPAU advice (of between 34,000 and 43,000 per year) and the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (due to be completed later this year). The Mayor will formally drop the previous requirement for 50% affordable housing publishing instead a numerical target for affordable housing provision. However, the Mayor will be placing significant emphasis on the quality of new housing including the principle of internal space standards, lifetime homes and garden space. Richard Blakeway, the Mayor’s Director of Housing will be attending the HBF London Principals Dinner on 2 July. Download the consultation document to top Industry news No European agreement on working time directive The European Council, Parliament and Commission were unable to reach an agreement this week at the third and final meeting of the Conciliation Committee on the issue of the Working Time Directive. This means that the current Directive remains in force, and it is up to the Commission to draft a new proposal from scratch, taking into account European Court of Justice rulings on on-call time. From a UK business perspective, it means that the ability to opt-out from the 48-hour working week remains, and businesses and employees are able to continue to benefit from the flexibility that this brings. Government reaction CBI reaction to announcement to top WBCSD - energy use in buildings can be cut by 60 percent by 2050 New modeling by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) shows how energy use in buildings can be cut by 60 percent by 2050, but it says that this will require immediate action to transform the building sector. Björn Stigson, president of the WBCSD said: “Unless there is immediate action, thousands of new buildings will be built without any concern for energy efficiency, and millions of existing, inefficient buildings using more energy than necessary will still be standing in 2050. Acting now means reducing their energy consumption and making real progress in controlling climate change.” Read more to top Eco-towns consultation closes The consultation on the draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS) on Eco Towns ended on 30th April. The consultation period was extended to allow various legal proceedings to be completed before comments were submitted. HBF has not formally commented given the site specific nature of the proposals. However, we continue to be represented on the CLG/TCPA Eco Towns expert group which is producing the various worksheets associated with the PPS. to top RTPI- Eco town standards for all Government proposed eco town standards should be applied to all housing, says the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH). The bodies were responding to the Communities and Local Government’s (CLG) consultation on its draft eco-town t (PPS). They welcome the draft PPS as a step in the right direction, but want to see the proposed eco-town principles incorporated into all urban and rural planning. RTPI Director of Policy and Partnerships Rynd Smith said: “Given the overall housing numbers required over the next twenty years eco-towns are unlikely to make a significant difference to the housing shortage. For this reason we believe eco-town standards should be applied to all forms of housing.” Read more to top Events The Housebuilder / HBF ‘House Building Innovation Awards 2009’ – ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 15TH! The entry deadline for the prestigious House Building Innovation awards 2009 has been extended by a week due to huge industry interest. The awards, run by Housebuilder Magazine and HBF and in conjunction with the NHBC, have become recognised as the most coveted of the industry awards and are endorsed by Government. Entry is FREE and there are eight categories covering all aspects of the industry including sustainability, marketing, design, customer satisfaction and partnerships. To download a copy of the entry form go to www.hbmedia.co.uk/hbm_awards.php to top Zero Carbon, Part F and Part L – The cost and impact on housebuilders Wednesday 20th May 2009 - Think Tank, Birmingham With the consultations for Building Regulations Parts F & L and the zero carbon definition taking place this year, this conference will help housebuilders understand the impending changes and their cost and impact on the industry. It will also provide delegates with valuable and practical insight into the future of Building Regulations. This full day event will specifically examine zero carbon, Part F and Part L over three morning sessions. The afternoon session will concentrate on the introduction of the new SAP methodology later this year with real life examples and a software demo. The conference will also analyse the real cost of sustainable housebuilding, looking at delivering to code level 3 and 4 and higher level schemes To book online please click here or for further information please contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk to top ‘New homes week 2009’ The New Homes Marketing Board has announced that it is proposing to hold ‘New Homes Week 2009’ between 14th and 20th September. Like the previous New Homes Weeks in 2005 and 2006, which proved extremely successful, the objective of the week will be to promote the new homes market by highlighting the benefits of new build homes, which will hopefully result in increased visitor levels to sites and thus drive sales. It is imperative that the New Homes Marketing Board and the Home Builders Federation assist its members in every possible way to drive sales in such challenging trading conditions. Last year it was felt that the environment was just too turbulent to justify such a campaign, and whilst clearly a challenging environment remains, increased consumer interest dictates that every option should be explored to convert that interest in to reservations. The campaign will be driven predominantly through the local media, and the NHMB will be developing stories around set themes for each day of the week to generate public interest. As well as developing an overarching strategy, NHMB will be looking to link up with members on a local and regional level, and to support them to develop their own initiatives/ events throughout the week. In order that members are fully aware of the proposals it is requested that the relevant member of staff emails nhw2009@hbf.co.uk and further details will be sent out shortly. to top Hope Challenge: 12 - 14th June 2009, Peak District HBF's nominated charity, Habitat for Humanity, which builds safe, decent homes for families living in poverty, is organising a fundraising event to take place in the summer. Taylor Wimpey, Bovis and HBF are amongst the teams already registered for the Hope Challenge 2009, and they are looking for more house builders to enter an event that was born out of industry activity. It is a challenge event for teams of 3-6 people that will test your initiative, your teamwork and your fitness. And by sleeping in your very own shelter you will experience some of the challenges faced by those who live in poverty housing. The event involves: 2 days and 2 nights in the great outdoors Mental and physical team challenges The Shelter Build challenge - sponsored by NHBC 1000m of hill ascent and 20 miles of trekking A balance of fitness, strategy and team work HFH is looking for teams of people who want to rise to the challenge of raising funds in support of the 2 billion people living in poverty housing around the world. If you would like to sponsor the HBF team please click here Click here for more information and entry requirements 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 Steve TurnerView Previous Weekly News Summary
