Housing Market Intelligence Conference 2023

HMI - Savoy Place - 5th October 2023

Housing Market Intelligence 2023 

The government will be bold enough to tell local authorities they are failing their residents by not delivering on local plans, according to housing minister Rachel Mclean. 

Speaking at Housebuilder’s Housing Market Intelligence Conference in London on October 5,  Mclean said the “only way” to deliver homes people wanted was through local plans. Referring to councils that did not produce timely plans, she said: “I’m not afraid to say you’re failing your residents and you’ll see families who don’t see their children or grandchildren buy a home in their area.” 

The housing minister also stated the government’s commitment to housing, telling delegates that housing was a “massively important agenda”. She said that the Conservative party conference, concluding in Manchester on October 4, “genuinely” felt “like a housing conference”.  

Mclean highlighted the government’s various policy interventions over the past year, also stating the housing department’s intention to “update” the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). She also said the government had not dropped its housing targets and reiterated the government’s intention to deliver 1 million homes in this parliament. 

Also speaking at the conference, HBF’s executive chairman Stewart Baseley, who gave a “state of the nation” overview of the various issues currently facing housebuilding, said he was “receiving mixed messages from government” given the last 12 months of planning policy intentions, the government’s general approach “and what Rachel Mclean said today”. 

But he added that the narrative around the government’s perception of housing was starting to change “somewhat”, evident from recent meetings with Mclean and levelling up secretary Michael Gove. “I do sense a willingness for them to work more closely with us. It’s our job to build on that spirit of desire to co-operate.” 

Jennie Daly, ceo of Taylor Wimpey, said that to fix the planning malaise, she would introduce a national plan for housing with minimum housing targets. 

She also warned against the industry accepting too much criticism as this could entrench negative perceptions, crucially within the vital younger generation. “We tend to take the knocks and accept negative labels. I do worry about our long term acceptance and the impact on the future workforce.” 

Daly stated the importance of housebuilders taking pride in their work. She said Taylor Wimpey was “playing a part in producing solutions to the big topics of our generation”.  

Speaking on quality, Steve Wood, NHBC's ceo, said the new homes warranty and insurance provider's construction quality index had showed an improvement "over time". 

He also stressed the need for the industry to see the delayed consultation on the Future Homes Standard.

Other speakers at the conference included David Smith, The Sunday Times’ economics editor, presenting on the economy and housing market, Geeta Nanda, ceo of Metropolitan Thames Valley, speaking about the challenges housing associations face, Mark Farmer, ceo of Cast Consultancy, who looked at modern methods of construction to improve productivity, and professor Julienne Meyer, chair of the older people’s housing taskforce, speaking about the taskforce’s aims to improve the supply and choice of housing for older people.

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