Build a new town in London Opinion The government has committed to building new towns with at least 10,000 homes but where should they go? London is the obvious place, says Jonathan Seager If you were asked to picture a new town in England, what comes to mind? Some of the better-known settlements established in the mid-20th century may well feature – [...]
How to build affordable housing Opinion Any plan to actually deliver the 1.5m homes the government has committed to must be guided by pragmatism, not dogma – and lower targets for affordable housing can often result in more actually getting built, says Marc Vlessing The sudden departure of both senior leaders at Homes England is an opportunity to rethink the role [...]
House prices rising slowly but 2024 still a ‘bumper year’ Property 2024 is set to be a “bumper year” for house sales thanks to rising real incomes and lower mortgage rates, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. The level of new sales has increased to its highest level since late 2020, the survey showed. There are 306,000 homes currently working through the buying process, 26 [...]
Building on the green belt won’t fix the housing crisis September 5, 2024 Labour’s plans to relax protection for the green belt will incentivise developers to build expensive houses for commuters while leaving city centre brownfield sites to rot, says Sam Fowles Labour has put solving the housing crisis front and centre, promising to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the parliament. But its key [...]
Build, Baby, Build: The Apprenticeship Levy is a tax by another name August 23, 2024 SME house builders need to attract young talent more than ever, but the inflexible Apprenticeship Levy is standing in the way, says Rowland Thomas The new Labour Government’s pro-development approach and commitment to getting Britain back building has been largely welcomed by the housebuilding industry. However, even if the Government delivers on its promise to [...]
Rayner must defy her own backbenchers and build, baby, build July 31, 2024 Angela Rayner has clearly been reading City A.M.. In a statement to the House of Commons yesterday the housing secretary outlined plans to build 370,000 homes a year, in a clear victory for our Build, Baby, Build campaign. The challenge now is to realise that ambition in bricks and mortar. It is encouraging, then, that [...]
‘Steady picture’: UK house prices increase at fastest rate since July 2022, as London rose slowest July 17, 2024 Expectations of a cut to interest rates and continued tight supply helped house prices to rise for the third successive month in May, the Office for National Statistics has said.
Mark Kleinman: Water sector’s goodwill will evaporate under Labour July 11, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man that gets the City talking in his fortnightly City A.M. column. This week he writes about the new government’s plans for water firms, housebuilders and Schroders The moment has arrived. By the time City AM readers set eyes on today’s newspaper, Ofwat, the water [...]
Housebuilder Barratt to deliver profit ‘slightly ahead’ of expectations despite challenging conditions July 10, 2024 In a trading update covering the year to June, Barratt said that total home completions were at 14,004. Although this was down on 17,206 last year, it was still at the "upper end" of the firm's guidance.
Housebuilding giants Bellway, Berkeley and Barratt laud Reeves’ planning pledge July 8, 2024 Some of the UK's largest property and housebuilding firms have welcomed the new Labour government's promise to "get Britain building again" with a reintroduction of compulsory housebuilding targets, calling them "hugely encouraging".