HBF Wales Weekly News Summary Friday 16 November 2007

HBF Weekly news summary (Welsh version) a summary of the top industry news for this week.

Too many flats and too few houses are being built in Wales's biggest cities, claims a leading planning expert. Cardiff has seen the largest increase, with the number of new flats more than doubling in the past five years. A decade ago, about 20% of new homes in Cardiff were flats; now it is nearly 70% in some developments.

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Assemby Government plans to gain powers over affordable housing have been delayed because Whitehall officials believe the powers sought are too wide-ranging, it has emerged.

Last night Whitehall officials sought to play down the problem, attributing the delay to "technical issues" that could be easily resolved, and insisting the Assembly Government would get the power to suspend council house sales in areas where there is a shortage of affordable homes

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Wales is one of the few parts of the UK where it is now cheaper to rent than buy a property, new research has revealed. Research by financial giant Abbey shows that, last year, it was £61,155 cheaper to rent than buy in Wales for the average household over 25 years.

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The latest Welsh Housing Statistics for 2006 have been released. They show:

Note: This information based on the reports of local authority building inspectors and the National House Building Council (NHBC). It does not include information from other private approved inspectors and so may not give the total number of newbuild starts and completions.

Link to the publication

The Latest housing forecast announced by Nationwide this morning reports the following:

Commenting on the forecast Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:

"House prices recorded another strong year in 2007, underpinned by significant economic momentum, ongoing housing shortages and strong buy-to-let demand. We forecast house price growth of 5-8% in December last year, and with two months left to go it looks like the middle to upper end of this range will be achieved. That being said, momentum is now fading, and a number of factors suggest that house price inflation will drop from its current rate of 9.7% to 0% by this time next year..."

For further information please see the attached report.

The RICS house price balance declined at the fastest pace since July 2005 but limited supply is still propping up the market, says RICS' UK Housing Market Survey for October.

Surveyors reported that house price growth remained negative for the third month in succession. 22.2% more Chartered Surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices, compared to 14.9% in September - the fastest decline in sentiment since July 2005 when 30.9% Chartered Surveyors reported a fall than a rise. However, new instructions declined for the fifth consecutive month. 17% more Chartered Surveyors reported a fall than a rise in new instructions to sell property.

New buyer enquiries declined for the 11th successive month with 41% more Chartered Surveyors reporting a fall than a rise.

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Higher borrowing costs contributed to a decline in gross lending in September, with the bulk of the impact being felt on lending for house purchase rather than re-mortgaging, according to data from the CML's regulated mortgage survey.

September's lending total of £30.6 billion was lower than August's (£34 billion) but higher than a year ago (£29.2 billion in September 2006). At £12.7 billion, house purchase borrowing was lower than in both the preceding month (£16.2 billion) and in September last year (£13.9 billion).

But re-mortgaging and other lending remained buoyant in September. At £11.1 billion, re-mortgaging was higher than in August (£11 billion) and in September last year (£10 billion). And the strength of buy-to-let helped sustain other lending, which totalled to £6.8 billion, the same as in August but higher than in September 2006 (£5.3 billion).

The average mortgage rate was 6.02% in September, compared with 5.91% in August. As a result, affordability worsened for both first-time buyers and movers. Mortgage interest payments consumed 20.4% of income for first-time buyers (up from 20% in August) and 17.5% for movers (up from 17.3% in August). Borrowing by both groups declined in September. There were 28,400 loans to first-time buyers, worth £3.8 billion (compared with 34,800, worth £4.7 billion, in August). And movers took out 52,400 loans, worth £8.9 billion (compared with 68,000, worth £11.5 billion, in August).

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Three major English cities are set to develop tailored action plans to slash their CO2 emissions under the new Low Carbon Cities Programme.

Under the new scheme, the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust will work with Bristol, Leeds and Manchester to develop individual city-wide action plans to achieve low carbon economies which are both prosperous and sustainable.

New measures and initiatives will be introduced and could include renewable energy and tri-generation (creating power, heat and cooling from a single source) along with energy saving measures such as insulation and promoting cycling to work. Key public service bodies, businesses and community leaders in each of the cities will contribute to the strategy and its implementation.

David Pretty, Chairman of the New Homes Marketing Board has been made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

The honour - for services to housebuilding - was presented by the Queen in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace this week.

David Pretty was group Chief Executive of Barratt Developments until the end of 2006 after 40 years in the industry, 27 of them with Barratt. Recognised for his extensive experience and leading role in the fields of urban regeneration, land buying and marketing, he is also considered a pioneer of social housing partnership development in the inner cities.

In addition to his role as Chairman of the New Homes Board David is also Board Director of the HBF, Trustee of The Prince's Foundation Regeneration Trust and an appeal board member of Shelter.

The OFT has published guidance to business on their obligations under the new anti-money laundering regulations which come into effect on 15th December 2007.

Download OFT Press Release

Download OFT Money Laundering Regulations 2007: core guidance

CLG house building statistics from the latest quarter (July to September) show that in England, during the quarter to September 2007, there were around 42,200 starts, up 5 per cent on the equivalent quarter in 2006. Completions numbered 38,300 completions, up 2 per cent on the same period in 2006.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has failed to properly manage the regeneration of the Thames Gateway, leaving private sector partners concerned about the future of the project, according to the report ‘Thames Gateway: Laying the foundations' by the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

The Government, which has already spent £673m on the scheme, hopes the development of the 40-mile stretch between Canary Wharf and the mouth of the River Thames will add £12bn to the economy by 2016.

But Chairman Edward Leigh, speaking as the committee published its report on Thursday, warned that the entire project was at risk because the CLG is "manifestly not up to the job of managing the enormously ambitious enterprise of regenerating the Thames Gateway region".

However a spokesman for the DCLG insisted that cross-government action is being taken to deliver the scheme.

"In the last 12 months alone, government investment and intervention have delivered major progress, with the opening of two international stations on the High Speed Rail Link, agreement on Crossrail which will substantially benefit Canary Wharf and Woolwich and major progress on the Olympic developments and at Stratford...

We have clear targets to create 160,000 new homes and 180,000 new jobs by 2016. We are on course to meet, if not exceed, those targets - that is what delivery is about....

We simply do not recognise many of the suggestions in the report."

View full report

Housing and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper has announced the appointment of Robert Napier as the new Chairman of national regeneration agency English Partnerships.

He will take up the post from 1 January 2008 and will chair English Partnerships until the launch of the new Homes and Communities Agency, due to be operational from 2009.

The new agency will bring together the functions of English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and a range of work carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government, including delivery in the areas of decent homes, housing market renewal, housing PFI, housing growth and urban regeneration.

This week the Climate Change Bill has been published, the first of its kind in the world, which sets out a framework that will put Britain on the path to become a low-carbon economy, with clear, legally binding targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050, and 26 to 32 per cent by 2020, against 1990 levels.

As well as setting clear targets, the Bill provides a pathway to achieve those reductions through a system of five-year carbon budgets set fifteen years ahead, which would give investors and policy makers certainty and direction.

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HBF has arranged an exclusive briefing for members with John Calcutt on 4th December in Central London.

Full details to follow.

To book a place contact Marian MacDonald - marian.macdonald@hbf.co.uk

Places are limited.

HBF External Affairs Director John Slaughter met a number of backbench MPs this week to explain HBF's views on current housing issues. The meetings form part of a wider political contact programme designed to build understanding of the industry's position and requirements as the Government focus on housing delivery grows and, ahead of the passage of the Planning and Housing Bills in the current parliamentary session.

HBF's Technical Conference entitled: ‘The road to zero carbon is paved with building regulations' was held this week at York Racecourse.

The day was a great success with over 100 delegates attending. The morning session focused on the government's review of the building regulations and in the afternoon, delegates looked at the practical issues faced by those building to low carbon levels and focused on the lessons learnt from the Stamford Brook development. The conference was chaired by Dave Mitchell, HBF Technical Director and other keynote speakers included: Dominic Miles Shenton - LMU, Dr Jez Wingfield - LMU, Joe Isle - Taylor Wimpey, John Tebbit - Construction Products Association, Neil Cooper - NHBC, Mat Colmer - EST and Professor Malcolm Bell - LMU.

Wednesday 30 January - One Birdcage Walk, London

The Government has called on the UK house building industry to increase house building levels to 240,000 homes per year and to build homes to zero carbon standards by 2016. This full day conference is perfectly timed at the start of next year to give delegates a detailed and comprehensive overview of the issues facing the industry.

For further details, please contact the Events Team on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk

The HBF North West Social Dinner will be held at the Midland Hotel, Peter St, Manchester M60 2DS.

The evening commences at 7.30pm for 8.00pm with a three-course dinner and wine, followed by a live band and disco.

Cost £70 + VAT. Tables of 10 and 12 can be booked - if you require a larger table please contact the events team.

To book please download the booking form

Or contact the Events Team 020 7960 1646

The HBF AGM and Annual Industry Lunch will be held at the Hyatt Regency - The Churchill, London W1 on Wednesday 23rd April 2008.

The AGM is open to members only and will commence at 11.30. Non-members are invited to join the drinks reception at 12.30 and lunch at 13.00.

Tables of 10 or 12 booked before the 8th February 2008 will receive a 10% discount.

Please note due to high demand in previous years, places are strictly on a first-come first-served basis and booking early is highly recommended.

Cost - HBF Members: £85 plus VAT. Non Members: £95 plus VAT.

To book download a booking form or contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or email events@hbmedia.co.uk

Jo Weston