Latest News

The latest news, features, comment and analysis of the UK housebuilding market covering policy, regulation, planning, technology, new developments and products

Annual Constructing Excellence KPIs show productivity up

June 13, 2007

According to latest results of the Housing Forum’s annual Constructing Excellence key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring system, productivity in the housing sector is on the up. The median production value per employee rose from £47,800 in 2006 to £54,000 in 2007. Project predictability also rose – with the proportion of projects on-cost or better up from 43% last year to 48% in 2007.

HBF rebuffs claims housebuilders sitting on 14,000 acres of land

June 13, 2007

RTPI accusations that housebuilders are failing to build on 225,000 new homes worth of land with planning permission have been labelled as \"misleading\" by the HBF.

Government figures show house prices still rising

June 13, 2007

The government’s latest house price figures show house price inflation rising from 10.9% in March to 11.3% in April, with 14% growth in London – up from 13.9%.

Inflation rate eases

June 13, 2007

Britain’s inflation rate fell to 2.5% in May, following readings of 3.1% in March and 2.8% in April, according to latest consumer price index (CPI) figures from the Office of National Statistics.

CML figures show borrowers increasingly stretched

June 12, 2007

Mortgagees are increasingly stretched as interest rates continue to rise, with interest payments at a 15-year high, according to latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lengers.

HBF calls on Brown to create housing cabinet minister

June 12, 2007

The HBF has called on prime minister-to-be Gordon Brown to create a cabinet position for housing.

RTPI brands new housing unit\'s supply crisis summation \"too simple\"

June 7, 2007

New RTPI has rejected calls by the new government-backed thinktank, the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU), for more land to be released for housing to ease the growing affordability crisis.

Housing market driving growing wealth gap, claims new thinktank

June 7, 2007

The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU), a government-backed thinktank, has today stolen national press headlines with a stark forecast that by 2026 a quarter of homes will cost ten times the level of average earnings of the poorest quartile of the population.

MPC holds interest rates at 5.5%

June 7, 2007

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee has today voted to maintain the base interest rate at 5.5%. This will comfort housebuilders, who are concerned about the potential impact of string of rises on the market.

Spicerhaart calls for HIPs to be scrapped

June 6, 2007

Spicerhaart has called for home information packs (HIPs) to be scrapped after it has been forced to disband its HIPs provision department, HIPs.co.uk, following the government’s embarrassing climbdown over the packs, which has seen their introduction delayed until August 1, and plans apparently in chaos.