A weekly news summary covering all aspects of the housebuilding industry. Available to members only.
HBF News and Activity
HBF gives evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee
HBF gave evidence on 18 January to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry, “Sustainable Housing: a progress report”.
The Committee, chaired by former Conservative Shadow Environment Secretary Tim Yeo, explored HBF’s understanding of the issues affecting the further improvement of the environmental performance of new homes. Following evidence given by Crest Nicholson and George Wimpey, HBF took the opportunity to set out the industry’s views about current regulatory arrangements and the inhibiting impact of regulation on innovation. Noting these issues, the Committee asked HBF to provide it with further written evidence on issues relating to the proposed Code for Sustainable Homes and the current revision of Part L, including the case for a robust details approach.
New Homes Week competition
The New Homes Marketing Board will be running a competition on Thursday 23 and Friday 24 March to promote New Homes Week (20-26 March) in the Daily Express. Sponsored by HB0S, the competition will give readers the chance to win a free mortgage whilst creating national awareness and enhancing the profile of the Week.
New Homes Week will also be promoted within key consumer media with editorial due to appear in Your New Home, Location-Location-Location, House Beautiful, New Homes, Your Home, Ideal Home and What House online.
For further information on the week please visit www.new-homes.co.uk
Draft PPS3 and Planning –gain Supplement Conference
HBF will hold a conference on the Government’s PPS3 and Planning-gain Supplement consultations on 26 January, at the Ramada Hotel & Resort, Sutton Coalfield, Birmingham. The conference will have expert speakers and workshops to allow house builders to put forward their views. If you would like to book a place at the conference please contact the Events team on 020 7960 1646 or email.
Miliband to speak at major HBF Conference
HBF is holding a major Barker Conference in London on 23rd February (9.30-4.00), with the keynote speech to be given by the Rt Hon David Miliband MP, Minister for Communities and Local Government. Kate Barker, Professor Sir Peter Hall and James Paton, HM Treasury, will also be guest speakers.
In considering the response to Barker, the morning session will focus especially on the draft PPS3 and proposed Planning-gain Supplement. HBF will be launching the results of its first Customer Satisfaction Survey, its Skills Strategy and an MMC report, all in response to Barker recommendations.
If you would like to book a place at the conference please click here or contact the Events team on 020 7960 1646 or email
Economic News
Inflation falls back to target
The Bank of England’s target measure of inflation, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), fell from 2.1% in November to 2.0% in December, exactly in the centre of the target range. The CPI has fallen for three consecutive months, having peaked at 2.5% in September. The largest downward effect on the CPI came from transport. Specifically, air fares for long haul and European flights increased by less than a year ago and the price of petrol and diesel fell for the fourth successive month.
(Inflation release)
Unemployment rises and earnings growth slows
The ILO defined unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in the three months to November, the highest level seen since 2003. The claimant count measure of unemployment rose for the twelfth successive month, by 7,200 in December, although the rate remained unchanged at 2.9%.
Headline average earnings growth continued to slow in the three months to November 2005, rising by 3.4% compared to the same period in 2004. This measure has continually declined from a recent peak of 4.6% in May. Once bonuses are excluded, the slowdown is less pronounced. Earnings excluding bonuses in the three months to November were up 3.8% compared to a year earlier, down from a recent peak of 4.5% in the last quarter of 2004.
(Labour Market Statistics release)
Retail sales growth picks up
The volume of retail sales picked up in December, rising by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% from November and by 1.6% in the final quarter of the year from the preceding quarter, and the fastest rate of growth on a moving three month basis since the middle of 2004. The volume of sales in December 2005 was 4.0% higher than in December 2004.
(Retail Sales release)
Political News
Prescott calls for CABE to make representations to planning enquiries
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott argued the case for the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) to be able to make representations to planning enquiries and stressed the benefits of favouring development on brownfield land at a CABE Conference on 16 January 2006.
Mr Prescott said: “In an ideal world, CABE would be able to make representations to planning inquiries and offer me advice on planning cases. But this is planning, which is seldom an ideal world! So I have asked my department to work with CABE to find new ways to augment the advice on design which I receive.” He also commented: “We know that house builders and retailers have shown they can make more money now than in the days of sprawl - because they have adapted their business models to compete in a different market place.
So don't tell me that sprawl pays. Creating sustainable communities is good for the environment, good for society and it's good for business.”
(DPM's speech)
Company News
Galliford Try to buy Chartdale
Galliford Try has entered into a conditional agreement to buy Lincolnshire housebuilder, Chartdale Limited, for £67m. The enlarged group is expected to have a landbank of approximately 3,900 units and the acquisition is part of Galliford Try’s plan to expand its house building division to 1,250 units per annum.
Greg Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of Galliford Try, said: “This is an exciting acquisition for Galliford Try that we have secured without competition from other housebuilders. It fits our strategy of growing our successful housebuilding division through expansion in adjacent geographical locations on terms that satisfy the Company’s investment criteria. The acquisition adds significantly to our landbank giving greater visibility to our target of 1,250 unit sales per annum in our housebuilding division. Chartdale also expands our geographic footprint and further raises the level of awareness of the enlarged business amongst land owners and agents, generating additional opportunities for house sales and land purchases.”
(Galliford Try Website)
Housing Market
Estate agents report that prices are rising and activity picking up…
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that estate agents witnessed a rise in prices over the three months to December for the second consecutive survey, which broke a run of fifteen consecutive months of falling prices, with increases being led by Scotland and London.
The survey also showed a continued rise in the number of potential buyers entering the market. RICS commented that: “Prospective buyers have been encouraged by the recovery in market activity, with fears of a housing crash diminishing.” However, supply may struggle to keep pace with demand: “Surveyors are commenting that the number of new sellers is not high enough to satisfy demand conditions in the early part of the New Year.”
(RICS website)
... as official figures show that house prices continue to pick up
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister revealed an increase in the annual rate of house price growth from 1.8% in October to 2.5% in November, with prices rising by an unadjusted 0.6% from the previous month. London witnessed its highest annual rate of house price growth since April at 2.2%. While still seeing the fastest rates of price growth, there has been a considerable fall in the rate of annual price growth in the northern regions, falling from double figure rates of increase in the first half of 2005 to 4.8% in the North East, 6.1% in the North West and 6.2% in Yorkshire and the Humber.
(ODPM house price press release)
… while Rightmove tells a similar story
Rightmove reported that house prices rose by 0.1% from 4 December to 7 January, as the annual rate of price growth rose from 3.4%, the previous month, to 3.6%. Commercial Director of Rightmove, Miles Shipside, commented: “The geographic split is quite marked this month, as sellers in many parts of the country continue to readjust. London and the South-East have had a couple of tough years of acclimatising themselves already and are now coming out the other side. Without their strong performance, the national figures would have been in negative territory, as you would expect at this time year.”
(Rightmove house price press release)
Other News
Public "wide of the mark" in its perceptions of housebuilding says Linden
The British public still believe the countryside is being concreted over and overestimate the amount of land that has been developed, according to research by Linden. A survey by the housebuilder found that only 19% of people estimated correctly that 11% of land has been developed. The remaining 81% thought that between 29% and 59% was under cement. Only 13% of respondents guessed correctly that only 1% of land would be needed to meet the housing needs of the next 50 years.
Linden Chief Executive Philip Davies said: “A long and sustained campaign against housebuilding in this country since the second world war has left a legacy of negative attitudes and suspicion. Although most people in the UK are aware there is a chronic housing shortage, often resulting in their children being priced out of the local area, their perceptions of actual levels of development in the UK are very wide of the mark.”
(Linden Homes website)
Ex Shelter boss says Barker report fell short
The former director of Shelter, Chris Holmes, has called for 300,000 new homes to be built a year with 90,000 for people who cannot afford to buy. In his book, A New Vision for Housing, Mr Holmes claims the Barker report, which called for an extra 120,000 new homes a year, did not go far enough. Mr Holmes outlines how he would reduce the widening divide in housing wealth with a three-pronged approach: ending the use of temporary accommodation for homeless families, the creation of mixed income areas across all housing areas, and a tax system that covers accumulation assets as well as income and spending.
Mr Holmes says that we should seek to diversify communities and must not sacrifice quality for quantity. “The problem is not that people who are poor live in social housing,” he argues in the book. “It is that they are too often all housed together on the same estates.” (Guardian)
Paul Samter
Senior Analyst - Economic and Policy Affairs
Home Builders Federation
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