Friday, 29th October 2010 Top stories this week HBF: Broken Ladder.....read more Housebuilder awards.....read more CALA case in High Court.....read more Government launches National Infrastructure Plan .....read more Gross domestic product preliminary estimate: 3rd Quarter 2010......read more BBA: September figures for the main high street banks....read more English Housing Survey 2008 Housing Stock Report....read more NHBC: New home registration figures fall slightly in September....read more Follow us on Twitter! www.twitter.com/homebuildersfed Quick Links HBF news Industry news Economic news Government and political news Events HBF news Broken Ladder: Three years without rent, food, clothing – then you can afford a deposit HBF this week issued a report – Broken Ladder - that revealed that that the average first time buyer (FTB) would have to save every single penny of their earnings for more than two years to have a chance of getting a foot on the housing ladder. In London it would take three years. The report featured extensively in the broadcast and print media including BBC, Sky and ITN's news programmes, as well as national daily newspapers such as the Telegraph, Times and Mirror. The coverage enabled HBF to make the argument for increased support for FTBs and call for the urgent implementation of Government policies that will facilitate increased house building. Please click here to read the report in full BBC Radio 5 - Wake up to money (skip to 00:23:45) ITV - Daybreak Sky News The Standard to top HBF in the media HBF also took part in Radio 4's PM programme last night, alongside the National Housing Federation, to discuss why housing provision had dropped to its current levels and what steps needed to be taken to increase output. Listen again (00:12:45) to top HBF briefs the new opposition housing team HBF continues to develop its relations with the newly appointed Shadow CLG team. HBF Executive Chairman this week briefed Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Caroline Flint on a range of issues, including development with the planning system and the New Homes Bonus; affordable housing and the mortgage market. to top Industry news Housebuilder awards Galliford Try scooped the Housebuilder of the year award at HBF's Housebuilder Awards last night, recognising the excellence of entries from the company and its subsidiary Linden Homes. Linden – with Affinity Sutton and the HCA – won the Best low or zero carbon initiative award and was shortlisted in the marketing category, while Galliford Try Homes was shortlisted for Best design and Best community initiative. Conroy Brook Developments took the Housebuilder of the year award for small to medium sized firms and also won Best design for Somersbury Court in Huddersfield. Other winners on the night were Berkeley Group for Sustainable housebuilder of the year, Redrow for Best marketing initiative, Miller for Best customer satisfaction initiative, The Hyde Group for Best regeneration project and Kier Partnership for Best community initiative. West Energy Saving Technologies won Best product for its Ventmiser. The Awards, staged by Housebuilder magazine and sponsored by NHBC, were presented by broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards. Read more to top CALA case in High Court The case by CALA Homes against the Secretary of State's decision to abolish the Regional Spatial Strategies was heard in the High Court last Friday. Judgment was however reserved. The Judge Mr Justice Sales, has requested that the Treasury Solicitor (representing the SoS) make further submissions on the point regarding the need for an environmental assessment when modifying a plan or programme. Obviously CALA will also be allowed to respond to this further submission and they in turn have been given permission to make a further submission on their other point – that the SoS can't use revocation powers to change the law that requires regional strategies to exist – which the SoS will then be able to respond to. It is unlikely that any decision will be made before early to mid November. Read more to top NHBC: Local builders in the South West Region deliver quality homes through economic downturn NHBC's annual Pride in the Job awards show that despite the recession, uncertainty about public spending and the toughest market conditions for decades, new homes continue to be built to the highest standards in the South West. Pride in the Job was launched by NHBC in 1980 to recognise the best site managers throughout the UK. As the awards celebrate its 30th anniversary, its importance in helping to raise standards in the construction of new homes has never been more relevant. After 18 months of rigorous judging by NHBC Inspectors and Regional Directors, the winners of the 15 Seals of Excellence and four Regional Winners were announced at the Winter Gardens in Weston-super-Mare on 22nd October 2010. The Regional Winners now go through to compete for the ultimate accolade - the Pride in the Job Supreme Awards to be announced in January. Read more to top NHBC: New home registration figures fall slightly in September The number of new homes registered with NHBC dropped slightly during the last month, from 9,954 in August to 9,033 in September. Figures from NHBC also showed that 29,625 new homes were registered during rolling quarter July - September 2010. Imtiaz Farookhi, Chief Executive of NHBC, said: "Despite a strong performance in Spring of this year, registration levels during the Summer flattened out and there hasn't been the traditional Autumn uplift that perhaps many in the industry were hoping for. "Confidence seemed to leave the market around the time of the election and has not returned. A further contributory factor has been the strictures surrounding mortgage finance, and these constraints have only increased in light of the review from the FSA. "September's registration figures have dropped off a little but are certainly an improvement on last year." NHBC statistics for the rolling quarter July - September 2010 show that: Private sector registrations were up 32% (at 20,594) when compared with the same period last year (15,577); Public sector registrations were 9,031 – 6% higher than the same period a year ago (8,559); Registrations in the combined private and public sectors were 23% up on the same period in 2009 (29,625 compared with 24,136). Read more to top Economic news Nationwide: House price index Nationwide published its house price indices this week which reported a modest downward trend in house prices in October. Figures showed that; The average house price fell by 0.7% in October, from £166,757 in September to £164,381; The three month rate of decline accelerates to 1.5%; Further quantitative easing could boost the housing market; Commenting on the figures Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "October saw a continuation of the modest downward trend in house prices that began at the start of the summer. The average price of a typical UK property edged down by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% month-on-month in October. The three month on three month rate of change – a smoother indicator of the recent price trend – fell to -1.5% in October from -1.0 % in September. This is the largest decline over three months since April 2009, but is still well below the 5-6% rates of decline on the three month measure seen during the second half of 2008. Read more to top Land Registry: September house prices down 0.2% since August The September data from Land Registry's house price index shows an annual price increase of 5.2% which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £166,769. The monthly change from August to September is a decrease of 0.2%. All regions in England and Wales experienced increases in their average property values over the last 12 months. The region with the highest annual price change is London with an increase of 8.8%. The region with the smallest annual price rise is the North East with a movement of 0.2%. Yorkshire & the Humber experienced the greatest monthly rise with an increase of 1.5%. The West Midlands experienced the most significant monthly price fall with a movement of -1.4%. The most up-to-date figures available show that during July 2010, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales rose by 1% to 64,411 from 63,612 in July 2009. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1m increased by 59 per cent between July 2009 and July 2010, from 563 to 896. Read more to top Gross domestic product preliminary estimate: 3rd Quarter 2010 According to the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.8% in the third quarter of 2010. Other key points include: Growth in Q3 is lower than the 1.2% growth in Q2; Allowing for the recovery in Q2 following the bad weather at the start of the year, the underlying growth in Q3 is broadly similar to that in Q2; Output in the production industries increased 0.6%; Construction increased 4.0% compared with an increase of 9.5% in the previous quarter; Construction increased 11.0% between 2010 Q3 and 2009 Q3; Output in the service industries increased 0.6%; GDP increased 2.8% in 2010 Q3 compared with 2009 Q3; Construction and business services and finance were the largest contributors to the positive growth this quarter. Growth was, however, widespread. Read more to top CBI comments on latest GDP data The CBI commented on the preliminary GDP data released this week, which showed that the economy grew 0.8% in the third quarter of the year. Ian McCafferty, CBI Chief Economic Adviser, said: "Growth in the UK economy was much stronger than expected again, and momentum in the recovery appears to be holding up well. "Growth was broad-based, with manufacturing activity remaining buoyant, and services continuing to grow firmly. The strength of production within the construction sector was the main surprise. "The timing of the VAT rise in the new year will help to bolster spending over the fourth quarter, but this is also likely to slow growth more noticeably through the winter and early next year." Read more to top BBA: September figures for the main high street banks According to the latest data from the British Bankers' Association, the annual growth in the banks' net mortgage lending is 3.9%, substantially ahead of the 1.0% for the whole mortgage market in August. Gross mortgage lending of £8.0bn in September was 10.8% lower than a year ago. Net mortgage lending increased by £1.6bn in September compared to £2.9bn in the same month in 2009 as repayments continued to hold up at fairly strong levels. House purchase approvals continued to weaken in September reflecting low demand. The average value of house purchase approvals (£142,900) fell again in September but was still some 4.1% higher than a year ago. Numbers of approvals for remortgaging have been slightly stronger in the last three months while those for equity withdrawal have fallen back slightly. Read more to top CBI: High street sales grow for fourth month running Sales on the high street were higher than a year ago in October, according to the latest CBI monthly Distributive Trades Survey. The figure was positive for the fourth month in a row, and retailers predict a slightly faster increase in sales next month. The survey showed that 58% of retailers said that the volume of sales rose during October, while 22% said it fell, giving a balance of +36%. This was lower than September's balance of +49%. Read more to top Government and political news Government published 'Local Growth' report The Coalition Government published on 28th October its White Paper outlining its strategy to support the economic renewal of the UK. The paper describes the Government's £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund, its plans to create elected Mayor's for the 12 largest cities outside of London, and sets out its requirements for the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). Paragraphs 2.6 and 2.7 make clear that the Government expects housing issues to be addressed by the LEPs. Box 2.A requires local authorities to create conditions conducive to economic growth, including supporting growth and development through ensuring a responsive supply of land that supports business growth and increases housing supply. Read more to top London Mayor makes housing statement The Mayor of London Boris Johnson made a statement this week on the Government's policy on affordable housing and its impact on housing and people in London. Read more to top CBI Annual Conference - Government launches National Infrastructure Plan The Prime Minister this week announced the publication of the UK's first ever infrastructure plan, identifying the scale of the infrastructure challenge and the major economic investment that is needed to underpin sustainable growth in the UK over the coming decades. Speaking at a CBI conference in London, he said: "I can announce today the UK's first ever national infrastructure plan setting out the infrastructure Britain needs and how we will unlock some £200bn worth of public and private sector investment over the next five years to deliver it. "This is incredibly exciting, and it shows how, together, we can help create the right framework for growth in which British business can thrive and compete with the rest of the world." The immediate challenge is to rebuild the economy, creating the conditions for enterprise to flourish based on an expansion of the private sector. The economy has been too reliant on growth from a limited number of sectors and regions. The infrastructure investment programme will help rebalance the economy and give industries the right conditions in which to grow. Read more Please click here to view this and the other speeches from the CBI conference to top CBI reacts to Prime Minister's speech to CBI conference The CBI reacted to a speech by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, to the CBI's Annual Conference 2010. Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General, said: "The Prime Minister demonstrated a real passion for business and an understanding that only business will create growth. "There was a welcome emphasis on the need to re-boot the country's infrastructure, with a coherent vision of what needs to be done over the next five years to secure economic growth. "It was encouraging that he encompassed all parts of the economy, from broadband to ports and from transport to energy. He also made clear that access to finance and immigration would not be barriers to future growth." Read more to top CLG publishes affordable housing stats. Communities and Local Government this week published the latest statistics on gross affordable housing supply in England. The key points include: A total of 57,730 gross additional affordable homes were supplied in England in 2009-10. This is an increase of 4% on the 55,570 (revised) affordable homes supplied in 2008-09 and the highest number since 1995-96; 33,120 new affordable homes were provided for social rent in 2009-10, an increase of 7% on 2008-09. 24,610 homes were provided through intermediate housing schemes, including shared ownership and shared equity, nearly unchanged on 2008-09; There were 46,980 new build affordable homes in 2009-10 which is 81% of the total supply of new affordable homes compared to 77% last year. Read more to top English Housing Survey 2008 Housing Stock Report Communities and Local Government published the English Housing Survey (EHS) Housing Stock Report 2008 this week. This is the first detailed report of findings relating to the housing stock from the new survey, and builds on results reported in the EHS Headline Report published in February 2010. The report included the following highlights: In 2008 there were around 22.2 million dwellings in England. Over one in five (21%) were built before 1919; Since 2001 there has been a significant reduction in the amount of disrepair in the stock. Private rented dwellings, converted flats and dwellings in city centres improved most; however the average repair costs for these groups of dwellings were still higher than for other groups in 2008; The energy efficiency (SAP) rating of the housing stock steadily improved from a mean of 42 SAP points in 1996 to 51 in 2008; The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with heating and lighting the home averaged 6.3 tonnes/year for each dwelling in 2008. The social sector accounted for only 11% of the total CO2 emissions associated with heating and lighting; Read more to top English Housing Survey 2008-09 Household Report The Department for Communities and Local Government published the English Housing Survey (EHS) Household Report 2008-09 this week. This is the first detailed report of findings relating to households from the new survey, and builds on results reported in the EHS Headline Report published in February 2010. The report includes the following findings: The total number of households in England was 21.5 million in 2008-09, up from 20.2 million in 1999. Of these, 68% were owner occupiers, 18% were social renters, and 14% were private renters. Owner-occupation decreased from a peak of 70.9% of households in 2003 to 67.9% in 2008-09. In contrast, the proportion of households renting privately rose from 10.8% to 14.2% over the same period; 656,000 households (3.0%) were overcrowded, with about a third of these households living in London.; Some 61% of households in the private rented sector worked full time compared with 24% of households in the social rented sector. Read more to top Events HBF Ball – Friday 10th December, London. The HBF Ball will this year take place on Friday 10th December. Traditionally the social highlight of the industry's year it will take place at the Marriott Grosvenor Square, London. Starting with a fantastic reception, the evening includes a three course meal, live music and dancing till 2am. It's the perfect way to start your Christmas celebrations and the ideal time to catch up with industry colleagues. The supported charity for this year's Ball is Habitat for Humanity The HBF Ball is kindly co sponsored by H+H and Ibstock Brick. For more details please click here or email events@house-builder.co.uk for a booking form. to top HBF Technical Conference, Birmingham, Tuesday 9th November Redefining the regulatory maze. This year's HBF Technical Conference will this year look at the regulatory burden facing the industry. Discussing the forthcoming changes in the building regulations, the Code for Sustainable Homes and the Flood and Water Management Act. Please click here to book online or download a booking form. Call 020 7960 1646 with any queries. to top Nearer to Zero: Planning for zero carbon homes. Wednesday 24th November, Woking This one day conference the HBF is supporting and helping organise with the Zero Carbon Hub, Woking Council and the Planning Officers Society will bring developers and planners together to discuss how to deliver future low and zero carbon housing and to improve understanding of each others' issues and perspectives. The event will also include presentations from house builders Lacey Simmons and Barratt on their approaches and experiences in building to lower carbon standards. The learning benefit gained by any individual attending this event can be evaluated and recorded in line with the CPD requirements of their professional body or institute. Please click here for more information and details of how to book to top For other HBF events visit the website For HBM events visit to top Rosie Hinchliffe View Previous Weekly News Summary
