Docklands News

A new report by the Centre for Cities claims that planning laws that force every project to be assessed on a case-by-case basis have stopped 4m homes from being built in Britain. The think tank said the UK's planning regime, adopted in 1947, had created an unpredictable system that has stifled house building since the post-war period. Researchers found that Britain has fallen behind the rest of Europe when it comes to house building rates over the last six decades. Analysis shows that in 1955, the UK had 5% more homes per person than the European average, but by 2015 it was 8% below the mean. The charity said that if building in the UK had kept up with the average rate across Europe, there would be 4.3m more homes today.

The Daily Telegraph (21/02/2023)  

Policy Exchange says that building 100,000 homes each year could add £17.7bn to the economy. The think-tank warned the shortage of new homes and over-inflated house prices are diverting investment from other areas of the economy, harming productivity and reducing consumer demand by eating into household income. It also recommended the Government give businesses a clear idea of what sort of development will secure planning permission. Report author Dr James Vitali said: "The potential rewards for unlocking the housing market, however, are huge: a more mobile labour force, more productive cities, more investment in productive businesses, a reduced benefit bill and renewed faith in the galvanising ideal of home ownership."  Former housing minister Brandon Lewis, who backed the research, said: "Solving the crisis holds out the dual prospect of placing rocket boosters under our economy and selling a new generation on the 'British dream' of home ownership." 

Daily Express (22/02/2023)  

London mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised for being behind on building targets for affordable homes, despite new construction projects increasing on last year. City Hall says 900 more affordable homes were completed in the financial year to December 2022 than in the same period last year, a rise of 50%. But the Conservatives say the mayor would need to “significantly” up his start rate and begin work on over 18,000 homes this month alone, in order to meet government housing targets. Almost £5bn in funding was given to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in 2016 to build 116,000 affordable homes by March 2023, but just over 50,271 have been built so far. It comes as the government is behind on its own national targets, with just 157,000 of the intended 180,000 built during the latest 2021 tranche of the bargain property programme. 

City AM (14/02/2023)  

Property values increased by 9.8% in the 12 months to December 2022, compared with the 10.6% annual growth recorded the previous month. The average UK house price in December 2022 was £294,000, £26,000 higher than 12 months earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On a month-on-month basis, the average UK house price edged down in December 2022, from £296,000 in November 2022. Average house prices increased over the 12 months to £315,000 (10.3% annual growth) in England, £222,000 in Wales (10.3%), £187,000 in Scotland (5.7%) and £175,000 in Northern Ireland (10.2%). Regionally, the East Midlands recorded the highest annual percentage increase in house prices in December, at 12.3%, while London recorded the lowest, at 6.7%. London's average house prices remain the most expensive of any region in the UK, with an average price of £543,000 in December 2022. The report warned that annual percentage changes in house prices have been affected by the stamp duty holiday which ended in 2021, leading to some volatility in the figures. 

Daily Mail (15/02/2023)   The Daily Telegraph (15/02/2023)   The Independent (15/02/2023)   The Times (15/02/2023)  

Mortgage availability has hit a six-month high, with data from Moneyfacts showing that the number of residential mortgages on the market surged to 4,341 at the start of February. Data shows that the total has since climbed by a further 150 to hit 4,491. This marks a high not seen since August, with September’s controversial mini-Budget having unsettled markets and seen the withdrawal of many deals. While the average rate for a two-year fixed-rate mortgage surged from 4.7% to a peak of 6.65% in October, some lenders are now offering fixed-rate mortgages at rates lower than the 4% Bank Rate. On February 10, the average two-year fixed rate dropped to 5.36%. The average five-year fix has fallen from 6.51% in October to 5.08%. But many first-time buyers will not benefit from the price war. Falling prices mean lenders are holding back from re-entering the market for those with small deposits, who are most at risk of getting into negative equity. 

The Sunday Telegraph (12/02/2023)  

Credit rating agency Moody’s has warned that mortgage lenders risk reputational damage if they fail to help customers struggling with rising borrowing costs. It said banks and building societies faced “social risks” from interest rates that are climbing as the Bank of England looks to contain inflation. Moody’s said: “We expect banks to work proactively with their customers to refinance maturing loans or, for those with constrained cash flows, to avoid default,” adding: “Failure to do so would entail reputational risk". This comes just a few months after Financial Conduct Authority chief executive Nikhil Rathi warned financial services firms that how they navigate this period of economic turmoil “will determine the industry’s reputation for decades ahead". 

The Times (13/02/2023)