Friday, 17 October 2008Top stories this weekBeckett delivers first speech as housing minister at HMI conference.....read more Government implements banking package....read moreCLG Committee announces special inquiry into effect of credit crunch on housing .....read moreCML - ‘Lending declines further in August'.....read moreQuick LinksWales newsHBF newsEconomic newsHousing market newsIndustry newsGovernment and political newsEventsWales newsHBF attend Economic Summit to help Wales weather financial crisisHBF was invited to take part in an all-Wales Economic Summit to discuss the present financial crisis and its impact on the Welsh economy held by the Assembly Government on Thursday. The meeting was chaired by First Minister Rhodri Morgan and attended by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones with responsibility for the Economy and Transport plus Secretary of State for Wales Paul Murphy and Deputy Minister for Housing Jocelyn Davies.The Summit recognised the need for action on housing following HBF's own recent meeting with Jocelyn Davies. It was agreed to hold a follow up meeting of the Summit participants within about 3 weeks and for further discussions to be held on key specific issues such as housing beforehand. Read more No Iceland bail-out as Welsh toll tops £78mFinance Minister Andrew Davies has ruled out a bail-out for the Welsh public bodies which invested in failed Icelandic banks.The amount of Welsh public sector money caught up in the crisis was revealed as £78m, as it emerged that three universities were embroiled in the crisis.Read more£12bn St Athan defence academy plans ‘on track'Plans for the £12bn defence academy at St Athan are "on track", the Government has confirmed.There had been fears that the huge project in the Vale of Glamorgan could fall victim to the worldwide economic crisis. But Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth has confirmed that "considerable progress" has been made on cutting the costs of the project.Read more HBF newsNew Housing Minister speaks at HMIHousing Minister Margaret Beckett this week delivered her first speech in her new role at the Housing Market Intelligence conference at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London. Beckett praised the HBFs ‘considerable contribution' to policy development saying that whilst being an ‘invaluable partner', HBF had acted ‘as the reality check that policy makers always need to keep their ambitions achievable'.Having acknowledged the clean bill of health given to the industry by the recent OFT report, Beckett went on to say that she was committed to helping the industry through these difficult times. She detailed the steps already taken and said that the Government would be flexible moving forward, was looking to work in partnership with house builders and at additional ways to assist the market, for example by bringing forward more public sector land for development.HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley also spoke, telling delegates that government needed to do more to assist the industry in the current climate by restoring liquidity to the mortgage market, further interest rate cuts and Government action to facilitate the sale of homes from the industry to the public sector. He also said that all parties needed to reassess how housing policy objectives were delivered in the future, as the traditional model that relied on rising land and property values could not be expected to deliver all that was on the regulatory wish list. Read full transcript of the Minister's speechRead full transcript of Stewart's speech to topCarol MustonIt is with very great sadness that we have to announce that Carol Muston passed away this week after a short illness. Carol was with RPS Planning, and before then was the HBF's planning policy manager for the Midlands and South West regions from 2002 to 2005. to topEconomic newsGovernment implements banking packageThe Government this week implemented steps to make commercial investments in UK banks and building societies to help stabilise their position and support the long term strength of the economy and mortgage market.It said that the overall aim of the measures was to support stability in the financial system; to protect ordinary savers, depositors, businesses and borrowers; and to safeguard the interests of the taxpayer. In summary, the measures intend to: provide sufficient liquidity in the short term;make available new tier 1 capital to UK banks and building societies to strengthen their resources permitting them to restructure their finances, while maintaining their support for the real economy, through the recapitalisation scheme which has been made available to eligible institutions (£37 billion of the £50 billion offered has so far been taken up on agreed terms); and ensure that the banking system has the funds necessary to maintain lending in the medium term through the credit guarantee scheme available to eligible institutions in relation to new short and medium term debt issuance. As a condition the Government agreed with the banks that they would maintain, over the next three years, the availability and active marketing of competitively-priced lending to homeowners and to small businesses at 2007 levels. Read more View the full transcript of Chancellor Alistair Darling's statementto topCML reaction to Government announcement.The Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) issued a statement immediately after the announcement seeking clarification on the reference to "maintaining, over the next three years, the availability and active marketing of competitively-priced lending to homeowners and to small businesses at 2007 levels" and "support for schemes to help people struggling with mortgage payments to stay in their homes, and to support the expansion of financial capability initiatives".CML said that it doubted whether, in the current market where house prices have been falling and demand has reduced, it would be either prudent or desirable for the volume of lending to home-owners to equate to 2007 levels. Following clarification from Treasury officials later in the day CML issued a further statement welcoming the Treasury's confirmation and clarification that the nature of the commitment to restoring flows of lending to the market is in line with the CML's expectations - namely an aspiration to achieving a broad, deep mortgage market in general with a good spread of products enabling access to the mortgage market for all credit-worthy borrowers. It said that the CML wholeheartedly supports this objective and looks forward to working towards the restoration of more positive market conditions.CML director general Michael Coogan reiterated his earlier statement that:"Lenders have been working hard to continue to deliver a flow of competitive mortgages into the market, as well as to ensure that as many people as possible are able to keep their homes if they suffer temporary financial difficulties. These efforts will continue, and we look forward to working closely with Government to help deliver these objectives." Cameron attacks BrownDavid Cameron today broke his truce with the Prime Minister and launched a scathing attack on his handling of the economy saying his policies had ‘fundamentally failed'.The Tory leader accused the prime minister of basing his economic policy on "false assumptions".Among them were the ideas that a successful economy could be built on a "narrow base of housing, public spending and financial services" and "that you could abolish boom and bust and that the good times would last forever".Read a full copy of the speechto topHousing market newsCML - ‘Lending declines further in August'Figures released by CML this week showed that In August there were 42,200 house purchase loans, 15,600 of them to first-time buyers. At £6 billion, house purchase lending was 63% lower than in August 2007. Both the number and value of house purchase loans were the lowest since the CML began collecting monthly data in January 2002. First-time buyers accounted for just under a third of total house purchase lending at £1.9 billion. The typical advance to a first-time buyer fell to £106,754, the lowest since May 2006, reflecting both falling house prices and a further tightening in lending criteria. First-time buyers typically borrowed 84% of the value of the property and 3.18 times their income, down from 90% and 3.39 in August last year.Read more to topCLG House Price Index shows house price fallThe CLG House Price Index published this week shows that UK house prices fell by 2.4 per cent in the quarter ending August 2008. This compares with a fall of 0.2 per cent for the quarter ending May 2008.UK house prices were 3.4 per cent lower than in August 2007. The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK stood at £211,410 in August 2008 (not seasonally adjusted). Annual average house prices increased in Scotland (+1.3 per cent), but fell in England (-3.4 per cent), Wales (-4.3 per cent) and Northern Ireland (-18.6 per cent). Annual average house prices paid by first time buyers in August 2008 were 4.5 per cent lower than a year ago. By comparison average house prices paid by former owner occupiers were 3.1 per cent lower. Read moreRICS September survey shows house sales averaging less than one per weekThe RICS Housing Market Survey for September shows that house sales per surveyor are averaging less than one per week and shows both a renewed deterioration in the net price balance and a further drop in the level of transactions. However some comfort may be drawn from the slightly more positive tone to a number of lead indicators of activity.Read more to topIndustry newsCML Disclosure of Incentives Form - Introducers requesting "option to purchase"HBF this week issued a note to members concerning the fact that some house builders are seemingly being approached by people acting as introducers who are requesting an "option to purchase" agreement. The intention appears to be simply to get around the requirement to disclose incentives on the CML Disclosure of Incentives Form, and therefore mislead lenders.View a copy of the noteMore information on the CML available from the HBF website HBF join housing experts appearing before London Assembly members.A panel of housing sector experts- including the HBF's Director of Economic Affairs John Stewart - appeared before the London Assembly's Planning and Housing Committee on Monday to explore the impact of the 'credit crunch' on affordable housing in the capital. Almost unanimously they expressed doubts about the chances of hitting the Mayor's target of delivering 50,000 affordable homes by 2011 because of what one expert described as a "financial tsunami".Nicky Gavron, Assistant Mayor and Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, said:"Sir Bob Kerslake told us today that the "most important thing is to maintain some momentum of activity in the sector"."In the current circumstances it seems the focus of this activity should be on the provision of social rented housing. In the short-term this should be the Mayor's focus.""There may also be some scope for an institutional private rented sector, similar to the European model, with an option to buy in the longer-term in some cases."The hearing will inform the Committee's response to the Mayor's forthcoming draft housing strategy, due for publication in November.Read more to topHousing development wins RIBA Stirling prize.Countryside Properties' acclaimed development, Accordia, in Cambridge, has become the first ever residential development to win the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize. The award recognises buildings that have ‘made the most significant contribution to British architecture in the past year'.Chris Crook, Managing Director, Countryside Properties (Southern) Ltd., comments: "The RIBA Stirling Prize is the most highly acclaimed architectural award and this is the first time it has ever been won by a residential development. This is a very welcome and much needed boost for the residential property industry, which is facing tremendous challenges at the moment."Read moreHousing Corporation says HomeBuy Direct scheme available for smaller sitesThe Housing Corporation this week announced that it will be more flexible over the number of units that can be considered as part of its HomeBuy Direct scheme. They said this week that it would consider sites with a threshold below 15 units particularly in rural areas.More information to topGovernment and political newsCLG Select Committee to hold inquiry on credit crunch and housing policy It was announced this week that the Communities and Local Government Select Committee has resolved to undertake a brief inquiry into the Government's response to the effect of the "credit crunch" on its housing policies.The Committee will consider the likely effectiveness of the measures which the Department for Communities and Local Government is taking to deal with the credit crunch, with particular reference to:achievement of the Government's house building targets, both for market and for social housing;the financial viability and ongoing business of housing associations; andmeasures to help existing and prospective homeowners affected by the credit crunch.Written submissions to this short inquiry are invited by Friday 31st October. A single session of oral evidence will be held on a date in November to be confirmed shortly.HBF will be making a written submission.Read more to topUK to slash green house emissions - and introduce ‘feed in tariff'Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband today committed the UK to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050. In a wide-ranging Commons statement, his first since being appointed to the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, Mr Miliband: backed the recommendations of Lord Turner's Climate Change Committee and said the Government would make the target binding in law by amending the Climate Change Bill currently going through Parliament.said that he plans to bring an amendment to the Energy Bill, also currently before the House, to introduce a 'feed in tariff' to support small scale renewables - something the HBF has been lobbying for- and to make a further announcement soon on encouraging renewable heat. made clear that, unless energy companies demonstrate action to end overcharging for many customers on pre-payment meters, he was prepared to consult on legislation to end unfair pricing differentials.Read a full copy of the speechLord Young announces deal to up-skill workers in housing and fashionA new three-year agreement between the Government and employers will deliver more skilled workers to do the jobs of the future in housing, facilities management, fashion and textiles, Skills Minister Lord Young announced this week. Speaking at the launch Lord Young said: "Industries such as fashion and textiles, housing and facilities management make an important and valued contribution to our national life. As a nation, we need more highly trained people if we are to continue to lead the world in an increasingly competitive global economy. Radical changes we have made to the skills and training system over the past two years helped ensure £38 billion was spent on training by British businesses last year. That is a real achievement but working together we can do more. This latest agreement will ensure employers have access to flexible, world-class training tailored to the specific needs of their business, delivered when and where they need it." Read more to topEventsHousebuilding 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. HBF 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 topSteve TurnerView Previous Weekly News Summary
