A weekly news summary covering all aspects of the housebuilding industry. Available to members only.
HBF News
HBF voices increasing concern over Local Authorities imposing their own targets to achieve zero-carbon
Stewart Baseley has this week written to Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly to express HBF's serious concerns over the different standards and timetables which a growing number of local and regional authorities are seeking to impose for delivering zero-carbon homes.
Separately Stewart is raising this concern in a number of speeches including to the RIBA Housing Group and basing his message on the following form of words:
‘Having to conform to a multiplicity of targets in different locations, I believe, will pose a very real risk to our ability to increase housing output - and indeed to provide the number of environmentally-friendly new homes that environmentalists must also wish to see. In fact, it would likely lead to output declining in the short term - and what might be termed a lose-lose situation'.
And in a letter published in today's Building Magazine (see below)....
To view the letter visit HBF in the News
A New Era for Home Building - HBF Graduate's Conference
Bookings are now being taken for ‘A New Era for Home Building' a one-day conference for graduates and trainees within the home building industry.
This year's conference will be held on Thursday 5 July at Holywell Park Conference Centre, Loughborough University.
The day is designed to create understanding of current industry issues facing the industry, facilitate constructive group discussion and networking amongst graduates from different companies, backgrounds and disciplines.
Keynote speakers include Steve Sanham from Urban Splash and Steve Clarke from Redrow Homes.
HBF prepares Wales Manifesto
HBF is about to launch its manifesto for the Welsh Assembly Government Election on May 3rd. Further information on the manifesto and the launch will follow next week.
Letters from Stewart Baseley published
Letters from the HBF Executive Chairman have been published recently as follows:
Financial Times - 18 April
The Times - 19 April
Building Magazine - 20 April
To view these letters visit HBF in the News
Economic News
Inflation and Interest Rates
Consumer price inflation, the Bank of England target measure, jumped unexpectedly to 3.1% in March, up from 1.8% a year ago and the highest rate since the series began in 1997. This is the first time CPI inflation has fallen outside the target range of 1-3%, obliging the Governor of the Bank of England to write an explanatory letter to the Chancellor.
Retail price inflation, a broader measure which includes mortgage interest costs and house prices, rose to 4.8%, the highest rate since July 1991.
A striking feature of the latest figures is that inflation pressures go beyond the obvious upward pressure from energy prices. In his letter, the Governor said that higher domestic energy and food prices accounted for only half the pick up in CPI inflation. Goods price inflation, a major restraining force on inflation in recent years, rose to 2.0%, the highest rate since May 1998,
The Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to raise Bank Rate by a quarter point to 5.50% on 10th May. Interest rate futures anticipate a further quarter point rise this year.
House Prices
House prices rose 12.1% in the year to February according to the official CLG house price index. Apart from Northern Ireland (47.5%), the highest rates were in London (16.7%) and Scotland (16.6%.). By contrast, price growth was weakest in the East Midlands (6.8%) and West Midlands (7.9%).
Rightmove reported a 15.0% rise in average asking prices in the year to early April. Asking prices rose 3.6% in the four weeks to 7th April, the largest monthly rise for five years.
Government News
Tony Blair highlights the need for greater land supply
In answer to a question at Prime Minister's Questions from Labour MP Ben Chapman (Wirral South) on housing unaffordability, the Prime Minister has explicitly highlighted the need for greater land supply in order to raise the rate of new house building. After stressing in his answer the need for greater social housing and shared equity schemes, his third requirement was to "make greater land available for development."
full transcript of the Prime Minister's answer below:
Prime Minister Tony Blair
"My hon. Friend raises a crucial issue for the country. It is interesting that his constituency in the Wirral shows that it is not simply a problem of London and the south-east. We have to do three things: invest more in social housing, which we are doing; improve the availability of shared equity schemes, since I think that they will be of great help, especially to young couples buying their first home; but also make available land for development. The simple truth is that, unless we are prepared to make more land available for development and build the homes that people need, prices will be even higher. It is obvious that many young couples are finding it a tremendous struggle to get their feet on the first rungs of the housing ladder, but we cannot solve that unless we are prepared to make the difficult decisions about housing supply."
In his answer to a supplementary question from Simon Hughes MP (LibDem; North Southwark & Bermondsey) citing the fact that over the last 10 years average house prices have gone up - more than four times as much as average earnings, the Prime Minister went on to say: -
"It is correct to say that living standards have gone up, and that house prices have gone up significantly. I agree with that, but the answer, as I said a moment ago, is that we must be prepared to release more land for development and to do more brownfield development, which this Government are doing. With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman and to the Liberal Democrats, we cannot have a situation in which the Liberal Democrats say that there should be more housing, while locally opposing every development that is proposed. In the end, they, like the Conservatives, have to understand that if the Government want to deal with these problems, hard decisions have to be taken, and the truth is that we take them."
Yvette Cooper pledges her support for low energy rated homes
The Government wants go further to make it easier for homebuyers to access grants for energy efficiency measures, linking them to new Energy Performance Certificate (EPCs).
In a speech this week at the second AHIPP Spring Conference - ‘HIPs Are Happening', Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said she will be hosting a major meeting of energy suppliers, local authorities, and the Energy Savings Trust (EST), to develop new measures to help home owners implement the recommendations in EPCs.
This could include ideas such as a 'one stop shop' where homeowners, after receiving their energy ratings, could access grants and get reliable quotes at the same time to carry out improvements needed.
Miliband launches Climate Change Pledge Card
Visiting a new low carbon housing development in Slough, David Miliband, Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Affairs, launched a new climate change pledge card, which sets out how the Labour Government working in partnership with councils, energy companies and the Energy Saving Trust will help households take simple steps to cut energy bills by up to £300 per year and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. The pledge card highlights five examples of actions that households can take and five ways the Government will support individual action:
Five things you can do:
Turn your thermostat down 1oC
Turn appliances off when not in use
Replace your light bulbs with energy saving ones
Do your washing at a lower temperature
Get a home energy check
Five things the Government will do to help:
Home insulation programmes
Free electricity monitors
Phase out energy inefficient light bulbs
Higher product standards and labelling
Home energy ratings
Advice published by CLG on demonstrating a 5 year supply of deliverable sites
CLG have recently published advice to their Government Offices in the regions and the Planning Inspectorate regarding how Local Authorities should demonstrate that they have a 5 year supply of deliverable sites for housing as required by paragraph 7 of PPS3. This has been a requirement since 1 April 2007.
The paper reiterates much of the policy in PPS3 but gives some insight on how the Inspectorate should assess such evidence as part of the appeals process.
HBF continues to work with CLG and the LGA on the good practice guide for undertaking strategic housing land availability assessment, due for publication in the summer.
The document can be found on the Inspectorate's website
CLG launches new Home Information Packs website
A new revamped HIPs website was launched on Monday 16 April. The new website has been rewritten with separate sections for industry professionals and a section for home buyers and sellers, making the website more user-friendly to each targeted audience.
Jo Turner