Latest News

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

Kelly delays Housing Corp and EP merger

July 25, 2006

Communities minister Ruth Kelly has delayed the merger of English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation.

Tory levy on homes could see end of inheritance tax

July 24, 2006

A prominent conservative think tank, the Bow Group, has called for a flat rate 1% tax on the value of all homes.

Housing affordability could hit 15 year low

July 21, 2006

A widely predicted rise in interest rates would push housing affordability to the worst level in 15 years.

EP to invest £600m over the next year

July 20, 2006

English Partnerships (EP) will invest up to £600 million in regeneration projects over the next year according to chief executive John Callcutt.

Rural commission calls for ten homes in every village

July 19, 2006

Every village in England should have up to ten new houses in order to solve the rural housing crisis, according to the head of the government’s Commission for …

Kelly stops Liverpool demolition

July 19, 2006

Communities minister Ruth Kelly has issued a stop notice on the demolition or refurbishment of 3,000 pre-1919 terrace houses in Liverpool.

Compulsory home condition reports scrapped

July 18, 2006

Housing minister Yvette Cooper has bowed to pressure from housebuilders and mortgage lenders and announced that home condition reports (HCRs) will not be compu…

North/south divide grows says RICS

July 18, 2006

A \"mini-boom\" in London and the South East has widened the north/south property price divide, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS…

Retirement builder accepts offer and starts bid war

July 18, 2006

McCarthy & Stone has accepted a £1.03 billion offer as the bidding war for Britain’s biggest retirement homes builder heats up.

House prices to leap 50% in six years

July 17, 2006

Economic forecasts by the National Housing Federation (NHF) predict that the average house price in England will rise by 50% within six years.