Friday, 16 January 2008Top stories this weekHBF holds successful ‘regulation' seminar with Government.....read more Loan guarantee scheme launched.....read moreRICS: Sales fall further despite growing interest in the market.....read moreCML: Interest payments consumed less income in November.....read moreQuick LinksWales newsHBF newsGovernment and political newsHousing market newsEconomic newsIndustry newsEventsWales newsSocial housing legislation announced by Welsh Assembly GovernmentThe Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has confirmed that it is ready to introduce the draft Affordable Housing Legislative Competence Order with the support of the Westminster Government. The new powers that would be provided by the Order could enable local authorities to preserve their social housing stock, thereby increasing the availability of affordable housing for rent.Read more to topWork begins on £8m affordable housing project in CaerphillyThe deputy minister for housing, Jocelyn Davies AM, has helped construction workers with the groundbreaking of an £8m Extra Care facility in Caerphilly.The development in Pen Rhos will provide new affordable homes for people over 55. The project, supported by £5.4m from the WAG in partnership with United Welsh Housing Association and Caerphilly Borough Council will consist of 49 one and two bedroom apartments.Read more to topHBF newsHBF holds successful ‘regulation' seminar with GovernmentHBF last week held an extremely productive seminar for Government officials on the Cumulative Cost Burden of Policy and Regulation. CLG, Treasury, Defra, the Better Regulation Executive and Bank of England were all represented.HBF members Crest Nicholson, McCarthy and Stone, Miller, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey presented appraisals from a range of sites to demonstrate the impact on land values of policy demands such as Affordable Housing, the Code for Sustainable Homes and Zero-carbon, Lifetime Homes, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and public open space. The effect of the credit crunch on sales values was also highlighted in these appraisals. In addition, CLG and DTZ gave presentations.The seminar was arranged following a series of meetings HBF has held with Government to highlight concerns over attempts by central Government and local authorities to fund an increasing range of policies out of rising residential land values. These demands had already begun to have a very significant impact on land values by mid 2007 and whilst the current economic climate has seen land values cut, policy and regulatory demands remain on an escalating upward trend. HBF argues that unless alternative sources of funding are found for these policy demands, the cost burden of regulation will severely restrict housing output, even in the recovery.to topGovernment and political newsLoan guarantee scheme for businesses launchedSpeaking to MPs in Parliament during Prime Minister's Questions about this week's Government package aiming to help meet the cash flow, credit and investment needs of small and medium-sized businesses, Gordon Brown said the £20bn scheme offered "real help now to deal with specific problems".The support package was announced by business secretary Peter Mandelson and consists of loan guarantees to the value of more than £20bn as well as a new £75m Enterprise Fund aimed at helping companies struggling to access finance for working capital and investment.Announcing the measures, Lord Mandelson said:"UK companies are the lifeblood of the economy and it is crucial that Government acts now to provide real help to support them through the downturn and see them emerge stronger on the other side."We know that some companies are struggling to secure the finance they need, not because of any failure in their business but due to the tougher credit conditions. That is why we have designed a package of measures addressing different forms of credit and providing real help for businesses."Read more Click here for further details of the loan guarantee scheme to topGeorge Osborne's speech to the Policy ExchangeShadow chancellor George Osborne delivered a speech to ‘think tank' Policy Exchange this week, where he stepped up pressure on the Government to adopt Conservative plans to free up banks' lending to businesses. Mr Osborne outlined the three steps the Conservatives have identified as key in order to revive the economy:New terms for the bank recapitalisation, so that the Government isn't demanding more lending while simultaneously creating incentives for less;A National Loan Guarantee Scheme to significantly increase the amounts banks can lend for a given amount of capital;And more liquidity for new business lending to remove the final barrier to getting credit moving again. Read more to topCML responds to Government on home-owner mortgage support schemeAt the start of the week the Council of Mortgage Lenders responded to the Government's consultation on the proposed home-owner mortgage support scheme that was announced by the Prime Minster on 3 December last year. The scheme would enable some borrowers to defer a proportion of their interest payments for up to two years, with the government underwriting a proportion of the lender's ultimate risk of loss.The CML welcomes the move to help more people facing temporary financial difficulties, but also emphasises that it is important to recognise that the impact of the deferred payments may be significant for borrowers once they get back on their feet financially. Commenting on the proposed scheme, CML Director General Michael Coogan said:"This scheme is not a payment "holiday" or a "free lunch", but rather a payment deferral. The future impact on borrowers' repayments may be very significant if they defer a high proportion of their interest, and the scheme is not without the risk of potentially unwelcome impacts on lenders."However, for eligible borrowers who would otherwise face repossession it may make the difference between keeping or losing their home, while for lenders it makes longer term forbearance a less risky option. If the Government can find ways to address the capital treatment of loans within the scheme, and the period and amount of the guarantee for lenders, this would improve its attractiveness and likely level of take-up."Read more to topMortgage rescue scheme extended across EnglandIn a subsequent announcement Government said today, 16 January that the mortgage rescue scheme to help vulnerable families at risk of repossession to stay in their homes is to be rolled out across England.The scheme is targeted at the most vulnerable households, those on incomes of less than £60,000 a year who would be entitled to be re-housed under homelessness legislation. These would be people who are elderly, disabled or those with children.Households will be able to apply to their local authority for two options to help them remain in their homes, depending on their circumstances.They will either be able to sell a share of their home to a housing association, enabling their monthly mortgage payments to be significantly reduced, or they can sell the entire home to a housing association and remain in the property as tenants paying a subsidised rent.The scheme, which is expected to help up to 6,000 households avoid repossession over the next two years, is being expanded to all local authority areas in England from today, following its early introduction by 80 councils in December.Read more to topDCLG: Decent homes in the social sector - Statistics reconciliation project 2008Communities and Local Government has published the results of the Decent Homes in the social sector statistics reconciliation project.The project explored the discrepancies in non-decent social sector dwelling estimates reported in a national survey and local statistical returns. The sources have been used in combination to assess progress in making homes decent as part of the decent homes programme and the Government commitment to service delivery through former Public Service Agreement 7 - that all social housing should be made decent by 2010.Read moreto topHousing market newsRICS: Sales fall further despite growing interest in the marketThe RICS' UK housing market survey published this week reported that:The average number of transactions per agency (over the last three months) was at 10.1, a drop from 10.6 in November, and the lowest figure since the survey began in 1978;The balance of surveyors reporting house price falls fell back slightly in December with 73.5% more Chartered Surveyors indicating a fall than rise in house prices, a decrease from 75.8% in October; The regional picture remained equally depressed with Chartered Surveyors in London reporting only seven sales per agency over the last three months and surveyors in the South East and South West reporting only nine sales in the same period. Last month, the most buoyant region was the East Midlands with 15 sales per surveyor;The sales to stock ratio - an indicator of market slack and a key guide of future price changes - had fallen to a record low after a period of stabilisation. In December, it dropped from 13.6% to 12.9%;Interest in the market continued to remain upbeat. 17% more Chartered Surveyors reported a rise than a fall in new buyer enquiries up from 16% in November;3% more Chartered Surveyors reported a rise than a fall in new instructions to sell property up from a zero net balance in November;Commenting, RICS spokesperson Ian Perry said:"Buyer interest is now at levels not seen since 2006 but without mortgage finance the housing market is at a standstill and transaction levels at an all time low. First-time buyers and owner-occupiers are now stuck in a market which does not fulfil their aspirations. The Government must act now to ensure that order is restored to the current chaos. "A first step would be for the Government to provide guarantees for the new issuance of residential mortgage backed securities. Without this help there is a real danger that homebuyers will be frozen out of the market, transaction levels and prices will fall to new lows, repossessions will increase and negative equity will become common place. Together this has the potential to push the country deeper into recession."Read more Download a copy of the RICS UK housing market survey to topCLG House Price Index - November 2008The latest UK house price index statistics produced by Communities and Local Government were released this week.The release includes data based on mortgage completions during the month of November 2008.The key points from the release are:UK house prices were 8.6% lower than in November 2007;The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK stood at £199,732 in November 2008 (not seasonally adjusted);UK house prices fell by 4.4% in the quarter ending November 2008. This compares with a fall of 3.6% for the quarter ending August 2008; Annual average house prices fell in England (-8.7%), Wales (-10.1%), Scotland (-3.9%) and Northern Ireland (-16.2%);Annual average house prices paid by first time buyers in November 2008 were 11.8% lower than a year ago. By comparison average house prices paid by former owner occupiers were 7.4% lower. Read more to topEconomic newsCML: Interest payments consumed less income in NovemberMortgage interest payments are consuming less of borrowers' incomes as those able to get a mortgage are stretching themselves less financially and beginning to benefit from reductions in bank rate, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Interest payments typically consumed 18.2% of a first-time buyer's income in November, the lowest proportion since February 2007. Home movers in November typically spent 14.4% of their income on interest payments, the lowest proportion since April 2006.Lenders have cautiously tightened their lending criteria as a result of the shortage of funding and falling house prices. The improvement in affordability is largely due to the fact that borrowers who are able to obtain credit are lower risk and less stretched.There were 12,400 loans to first-time buyers worth £1.4bn in November, compared with 15,400 loans worth £1.8bn in October. The average first-time buyer put down a deposit of 18%, the largest it has been in 35 years of available data. And first-time buyers typically borrowed 3.07 times their income, the lowest level since September 2005. CML director general, Michael Coogan, commented: "Limited mortgage funding and reduced consumer demand will weaken lending activity further in coming months. The flow of funds to the mortgage market will not improve this year without further intervention by government... "Affordability is improving for those who are able to access a mortgage, but saving for a deposit will still be a constraint for many would be first-time buyers. Borrowers who are benefiting from lower mortgage rates should over-pay if they can afford it to reduce their mortgage balance and protect themselves against falling house prices. And now is also a good opportunity for borrowers on interest only mortgages to switch to repayment mortgages to use this period of low interest rates to start to pay down their loans." Read more to topIndustry newsNew orders in the construction industry: November 2008Official data released this week by CLG revealed that new construction orders fell to their lowest level since at least 1983 in November, as demand from the private sector fell sharply.The data reported that:Private housing orders in the three months to November 2008 fell by 3% compared with the previous three month period and fell by 55% compared with the same three month period a year earlier.Private housing orders in the year to November 2008 fell by 40% compared with those in the previous 12 months. Public housing and housing association orders in the three months to November 2008 fell by 20% compared with the previous three month period and fell 15% when compared with the same three month period a year earlier. Public housing and housing association orders fell by 11% in the 12 months to November 2008 compared with the previous 12 months.Read more to topEventsHBF Conference ‘ Building towards a brighter future' - Sir Bob Kerslake to speak.Tuesday 17 March 2009, Central LondonConservative shadow housing minister Grant Shapps heads a heavyweight list of speakers for this year's HBF Policy Conference including HCA chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake, CML director general Michael Coogan, housing expert John Callcutt, Zero Carbon Hub chief executive Neil Jefferson and, fresh from completing the Killian Pretty review David Pretty. Other speakers include Richard Donnell, Christopher Hill and industry recognised experts from HBF's own policy team.The conference will be chaired by HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley and will look at a range of issues and challenges currently facing the industry. For more information please contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk to topHBF Annual Industry Lunch 2009 - Beckett to address.Wednesday 22 April, Hyatt Regency Hotel, central London.Housing minister Margaret Beckett will address this year's HBF Annual Industry Lunch that will take place on Wednesday 22 April. The event provides a unique opportunity to catch up with colleagues and other leading industry figures following what has been a difficult year. Further details and a booking form are available please click here. Alternatively contact the events team for further details on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk to topHope Challenge: 12 - 14 June 2009, Peak DistrictHBF's nominated charity, Habitat for Humanity, which builds safe, decent homes for families living in poverty, is organising a fundraising event to take place next summer. Hope Challenge 2009 is a challenge event for teams of 3-6 people and 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 1 overnight shelter to build, and sleep in 1000m of hill ascent and 20 miles of trekking A balance of fitness, strategy and team workWe are 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.Click here for more information and entry requirementsto topHousebuilder magazine Are you a member of the Home Builders Federation? As a member you are eligible to receive a free copy of Housebuilder magazine each month. Housebuilder is a leading source of information for people working in house building, containing all the latest industry news and analysis. Click here to claim your free copy 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
