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Brokers - how can we build more homes?

Journalist: John Fitzsimons, Freelance

ended 12. September 2023

Morning brokers

Data from the Home Builders Federation last week showed that planning permission for new homes has dropped to the lowest levels in almost 20 years https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/news/2023/09/08/number-of-new-homes-gaining-planning-permission-falls-to-low-hbf/

We already weren't building enough homes, so this is only going to exacerbate the issue.

So I'd love to pick your brains on how to put the situation right:

  • If you work with developers, what are their feelings at the moment? Is it a case of wait and see until the economy picks up?
  • What can we do to encourage more housebuilding? What changes would you make?
  • Is it all the role of the Government or does the industry have a role to play?

 

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
The government is the epitome of failure on this issue, so much so that they scrapped their housebuilding target this year because they knew they were going to miss them by an embarrassing margin. It's not rocket science, but we don't have many brain cells to work together within the current government. Housebuilders are crying out for planning reform. One after the other, as they released their annual statements there was a cacophony of criticism of the government planning regime. Weak leadership has let this continue for too long, and the poorest are paying the price. Not only this but letting 'Help to Buy' expire and not replace it with another buying scheme for those on low incomes was deplorable. The governement simply doesn't care about the housing crisis, and unfortunately, it effects a demographic least likely to vote so Sunak's incentive to fix it is lessened.
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Editor
Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Developers have had many issues with obtaining planning permission on sites, then adding to this have seen an increase in construction costs, decreasing house prices and reduced demand due to the end of Help to Buy. Unsurprisingly in light of this, most are slowing or pausing the building of new homes and potentially sitting on land banks and sites until market conditions are more favourable.
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
With the political will, there's a plethora of things the UK can do to build more homes. The government's strategy, if you can call it that, is to rely on the private rented sector and Build to Rent to provide housing at scale. In other words, homes built for corporate profit, not the population's needs.

We need to return to building social housing at huge scale. Modular properties, built off-site can play a major part.

The process for getting planning permission to build new developments needs a massive overhaul. It's incredibly slow and holding the country back.

Higher taxes for developers who land bank should be brought in, whilst providing tax-breaks to build eco homes. And finally, include property prices in the 2 percent inflation target, to make them more affordable to buy.
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Charles Breen
Founder at C B
The solution is very simple, relaxing planning laws and allowing councils to become the developers, in the post-war building boom councils were allowed to buy farmland, rezone it as residential and then instruct the builders what to build & when, but the effectively banned this from happening, putting all the control in private builders who hoard land. We need to change to a more Dutch model, the council is allowed to buy agricultural land, at agricultural prices, rezone it, build all the infrastructure needed, roads, schools ect, and then sell the land to developers who have to start building to the council's timescales and specifications. This will spur on development and stop large developers from restricting supply to artificially inflate prices which they currently are doing.