A new system making it easier for SMEs to gain a slice of Homes England’s £20bn worth of development opportunities is up and running. The government agency hopes it will be simpler for SMEs to come forward having replaced its panel of partners with a ‘dynamic purchasing system’ where new players can apply to join at any point. Under the old arrangement, the panel of partners was renewed every four years making it less flexible. Homes England chief land and development officer [...]

Nearly a quarter of online browsers looking at properties for sale or let were from overseas – the highest figure since January 2020, according to property agent Knight Frank’s data. This was up on the average of 17 per cent of overseas viewers in the 18 months to June this year. The return of overseas corporate tenants and overseas students getting ready for the academic year has driven demand. Knight Frank’s head of UK residential research Tom Bill said: “International [...]

Stamp duty relief on properties up to the value of £250,000 is thought to be behind August’s surprise house price upturn said the country’s second biggest mortgage lender, Nationwide. Although the benefits are typically more modest than before delivering tax savings of £2,500 compared with £15,000 on a property worth £500,000 back in July. The building society’s chief economist Robert Gardner said: “The bounce back in August is surprising because it seemed more likely that the tapering of stamp duty [...]

Nearly 120,000 new homes, of which half will be affordable ownership, are to be built for young people over the next decade, the government has announced. It’s allocated £8.6bn out of its £11.5bn affordable homes programme for 57,000 homes for ownership, 29,600 for social rent and 6,250 affordable rural homes. Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Creating more opportunities for home ownership is central to this government. “This huge funding package will make the ambition of owning a home a reality [...]

Investments in offices outside the capital for the first half of this year hit £3.58bn - 18 per cent above the long-term average for the first half of this year, Savills research reveals. Overseas investors accounted for two-thirds of the £3.58bn of investments from January to June 2021 – 38 per cent above the five-year average. Savills said the high turnover in Greater London, Southeast and the regional market was due to large lot sizes with 14 transactions over £50m [...]

Post-Brexit products certification postponed to avoid supply crisis Manufacturers have won an extra year to get products tested to comply with new UK certification rules originally due to replace CE marking in January 2022. International and domestic manufacturers had threatened to pull products off the market given the long queues for getting their items tested by that deadline. Construction Products Association, CPA, government relations and business development director Jeff May said: “To the government’s credit they realised some of the [...]

Up to 40,000 new homes a year should be custom or self-built according to a government-commissioned review released on August 21st. MP Richard Bacon’s House: How putting customers in charge can change everything offers a route map on how the UK can increase the 13,000 new homes a year built this way to three times this figure. Prime minister Boris Johnson, who commissioned the analysis, said: “Self-build and custom housebuilding can play a crucial role in increasing choice for consumers [...]

Construction firms are being urged to ditch diesel and use electricity to power site machinery enabling them to cut carbon emissions by 97 per cent, by the National Federation of Builders, NFB. The trade body has partnered with energy consultants Utility Team to help builders secure a green temporary building supply offering electricity from renewable sources for up to three years. NFB chief executive Richard Beresford said: “Due to its intensive processes and reliance on diesel generation, the construction industry [...]

UK house prices in June recorded a 13.2 per cent annual rise - 4.5 per cent up on May’s figures - with average house prices at £265,668, showed Office of National Statistics, ONS, data. Detached houses experienced the highest annual price growth of 15.6 per cent bringing the average price to £410,054. Flats and maisonettes revealed the lowest growth of 8.4 per cent bringing the average price to £221,211. EY ITEM Club senior economic advisor Martin Beck said: “Better-off, home-owning [...]

The UK government wants up to 3m homes to be powered by hydrogen by 2030, as part of its strategy to move to the low carbon energy source. Its hydrogen strategy released today sets out how transport, business and construction will harness the green-friendly gas creating up to 9,000 new jobs and unlocking £4bn in investment. Business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “This home-grown clean energy source has the potential to transform the way we power our lives and [...]

Housebuilders are being invited to bid for government funding to help deliver discounted first homes for locals and key workers across England. The government has earmarked £150m to support the roll-out of the scheme with a target of 1,500 new homes by March 2023. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Homebuilders of all shapes and sizes will now be able to benefit from this scheme while helping first-time buyers and key workers onto the property ladder.” The scheme offers homes at [...]

Occupier confidence in the West End is beginning to return with some existing retailers moving to better locations or superior-configured stores, according to Savills research. Mobility across London reached its highest levels in the second quarter since the start of the pandemic. However, average weekly footfall is still 56 per cent lower than pre-Covid levels due to low overseas arrivals and continued homeworking. Savills commercial research director Marie Hickey said: “The vast majority of demand is currently generated by domestic [...]