Top stories this week *Chancellor delivers Budget ....read more *House price falls reach near ‘historical levels' according to RICS.....read more Top stories this weekChancellor delivers Budget ....read moreHouse price falls reach near ‘historical levels' according to RICS.....read moreQuick LinksGovernment NewsHousing Market NewsHBF NewsIndustry NewsEventsGovernment NewsChancellor delivers new budget Chancellor Alistair Darling delivered his first Budget on Wednesday. There were no major announcements on housing, but a few small measures were announced including; Shared EquityExpansion of shared equity schemes, to make them available to a greater number of key workers by loosening restrictions whereby only those able to take on three quarters of the property's equity share had access to the scheme. Those with 50% equity will now be able to participate in the scheme. The Chancellor also announced stamp duty exemptions for shared equity buyers until they had "staircased" up to 80% ownership. Zero CarbonExemption for stamp duty land tax to be extended to new zero carbon flats, retrospectively from October 1 2007, and "pump-prime funding for a new 2016 delivery unit that will launch this year to guide, monitor and co-ordinate the zero-carbon programme." The Government will consult prior to setting out a definition of zero carbon by the end of 2008.Contaminated LandThe Government intends to extend the Contaminated Land Relief for the costs of bringing derelict land into productive use and for the eradication of Japanese Knotweed on affected development sites. The landfill tax exemption for waste from contaminated land is now to be phased out by 1 April 2012, a longer period than originally proposed.Finance and MortgagesThe Government will review proposals from the Housing Finance Review Committee to look at options for providing long term fixed rate mortgages - for up to 25 year terms - and other measures "to strengthen funding markets".Commenting on the budget Housing Minister Caroline Flint said:"This is an important budget for housing helping us deliver more homes for both families and first time buyers. Since 1997 95,000 households have benefited from shared equity schemes and today's Budget will support even more first time buyers to take that crucial first step on the housing ladder as new shared equity schemes enter the market."View the full HBF Member's briefing on the budget (members only)*View Alistair Darling's full budget report*If you have forgotten your login to access member only information on the website please type your email address in the 'forgotten password' box on the website by clicking here. If you are still experiencing problems please contact catherine.wilson@hbf.co.uk. to topHBF - Budget fails to deliver for first-time buyersHBF reacted with disappointment to the Chancellor's decision not to raise the stamp duty threshold. In a statement, Executive Chairman Stewart Baseley said:"This Budget ignores the vast majority of first-time buyers, leaving them without the help they need to make the first step onto the housing ladder.Whilst simplification of the Stamp Duty system for shared ownership is welcome, the Chancellor has left the vast majority of would-be first time buyers high and dry, ignoring our plea to raise the Stamp Duty threshold to £250,000 which would have exempted 90% of first-time buyers."View full press releaseDavid Pretty CBE, Chairman of the New Homes Marketing Board supported this with the following comment:‘We all knew that the Chancellor had little room to manoeuvre, so it's little surprise that we got a ‘neutral' budget today. There was a minor Stamp Duty concession on the shared equity element for affordable housing but this will help limited numbers. So it was very disappointing that the Stamp Duty threshold was not raised, for First Time Buyers at least, to £250,000- as I, and others, have been urging for 2 years."View full statement"Two year delay just not good enough" says SEERALocal plans to deliver more affordable homes and better transport are being delayed by Government claims the South East England Regional Assembly.The Assembly has drawn attention to the fact that while it submitted its draft South East Plan in March 2006, the Government now says it will not publish its proposed changes to the Plan until July 2008.Meeting this week, Assembly members expressed deep concern at the impact of the delay on local development frameworks which set out how councils will deliver South East Plan aims for housing, transport, jobs and environmental protection. Without feedback on whether Government backs the region's approach, councils cannot firm up their plans to ensure certainty of delivery.CLG house price index January 2008The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in January 2008 stood at £221,758, up from £218,007 in December 2007 (not seasonally adjusted).UK annual house price inflation in January 2008 was 8.0 per cent, down from 8.4 per cent in December 2007. Annual house price inflation in London was 13.8 per cent in January, up from 12.2 per cent in December.For the quarter ending January 2008 UK house prices increased by 0.7 per cent. This compares with a price increase of 0.9 per cent for the three months ending October 2007.View the full indexto topHousing Market NewsHouse price falls reach near ‘historical levels' according to RICSThe balance of Chartered Surveyors reporting house price falls increased to near historical levels in February and stocks rose to levels not seen for a decade, says RICS' UK Housing Market Survey.The RICS house price balance dropped for the seventh month in succession signalling more than half a year of negative market sentiment.64.1% more Chartered Surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices, an increase from 54.7% in January.This figure is close to the historical low of June 1990 when 64.5% more Chartered Surveyors reported a fall in house prices.View the full surveyCML reports monthly fall in lendingData released by the CML this week shows the impact that financial market conditions are having on mortgage lending.The number of loans for house purchase continued to decline in January totalling 50,300, a 19% fall from 62,000 in December, and 34% lower than the 75,800 in January last year. The value of loans declined to £7.8 billion, a 17% fall from £9.4 billion in December and 31% lower than £11.2 billion in January 2007. But there was an increase in remortgaging activity with 85,000 remortgages, up by 43% from 59,000 in December. View the full reportto topThe average first-time buyer now pays stamp duty nearly everywhere in the SouthHalifax have compared the average residential stamp duty bill for first-time buyers (FTBs) in 342 Local Authorities (LAs) in Great Britain over the period 2002 to 2007 and issued new data which shows that the average first-time buyer pays stamp duty nearly everywhere in the South.The data shows that average first-time buyer paid stamp duty in 2007 in 99% of local authorities in the South compared to 42% of LAs in the North.The stamp duty bill for the average FTB in the UK in 2007 was £1,751; £791 (82%) more than paid in 2002 (£960).The stamp duty bill for the average FTB in 30 LAs has risen by at least £5,000 in the past five years.View full report86% of British public classified as NIMBYs The third annual survey of public attitude to property development in the UK carried out by The Saint Consulting Group has been released, showing that nimbyism is on the rise in the UK.Of the 1000 surveyed, 86% of the British public were classified as NIMBYs, and one in four households has actively opposed a planning application in the past year.Government policy and public opinion appear to be pulling in different directions over development with 68% of those surveyed saying the goal of building three million new homes by 2020 is unrealistic.Developers need to react to change in demand says HometrackThe Hometrack Report for March 2008 states that 'builders need to react to change in demand with housing output set to fall further'The report says that the credit crunch and housing slowdown are acting as a catalyst for change in the profile of demand for new housing which is likely to impact on pricing in some localised markets and segments.Demand for housing still exists but Hometrack report that developers need to realign their development pipelines to meet the changing profile of demand.More Onlineto topHBF NewsHousing Futures Conference "Time for tough choices," Baseley warns Housing Futures delegatesHome Builders Federation executive chairman Stewart Baseley has warned that current market conditions are leading to a situation where the regulatory burden on the industry, which was already challenging, will simply not be achievable if the government wishes to see an increase in housebuilding.Speaking at the industry's inaugural Housing Futures conference in Nottingham, Baseley said: "The government needs to recognise that it simply cannot continue to pile additional regulations on housebuilders. Affordable housing, the proposed community infrastructure levy, higher code standards and the rest of the increasingly long shopping list of demands on developers does not come cheap."It is time for government to make some tough choices and to re-examine its approach to affordable housing."Baseley's comments were echoed by other high profile industry stakeholders on the day. Conference chair, NHBC chief executive Imtiaz Farookhi, highlighted the possible dangers to consumers of the government's zero carbon agenda. "Energy generation technology is unproven on a mass market scale, and coupled with the fast pace of change, this poses a great risk."The Housing Futures conference - supported by HBF - is set become an annual Spring event. Housing Futures attracted more than 150 industry delegates to a packed programme of plenary sessions and detailed workshops which were designed to set the scene and give detailed information on the multitude of issues facing the industry. Sessions focusing on new players in the market, housing affordability and the possible impact of the downturn, offered delegates an excellent profile of the state of the industry today and its future challenges. Economic updates provided by HBF economic affairs director John Stewart and Sunday Times economics editor David Smith provided an invaluable update on the state of the market following the credit crunch, and expectations for the next 12 months in light of the previous days' Budget announcements. View Stewart Baseley's speechto topIndustry NewsDevelopers should face land banking tax say town plannersDevelopers that are slow to build homes and shops on land for which they have already gained planning permission should be taxed to discourage them from manipulating the property market, according to the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).The RTPI believes a ‘Land Banking Levy' is needed to discourage developers, particularly in the housing and retail sectors, from putting off building.It notes that the credit crunch and subsequent cooling of the housing market could lead to housing developers delaying construction projects while they wait for market conditions to improve and so generate higher profits.More informationto topEventsRenewable Energy Technologies seminar for House Builders The Home Builders Federation and Renewable Energy Association are running a joint one day seminar on 3 April at the Sharp UK PV factory in Wrexham.The seminar is aimed at encouraging dialogue between house builders and renewable energy installers who will be increasingly working together as we move towards the goal of zero carbon homes by 2016 and the steps towards that goal.It will give an overview of renewable technologies. There will be presentations on technical aspects for installing equipment, new products and the robustness of the supply chain. There will also be a tour of the Sharp PV factory. Also to be discussed are policy drivers for renewable energy on buildings, and set out some of the legislative impacts on the renewables and home building industry - e.g. impact of air quality directives within the planning process. Dave Mitchell, HBF Technical Director and John Slaughter, HBF Director of External Affairs will be attending the event.There is a maximum of 30 people able to attend, so bookings are on a first come first served basis. To book a place please contact Liz Sleeper at the REA on 0207 747 1842.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 topJo WestonView Previous Weekly News Summary
