John Stewart

John Stewart

John Stewart is Director of Economic Affairs at the Home Builders Federation (HBF)., HBF

John Stewart is Director of Economic Affairs at the Home Builders Federation (HBF).

His policy responsibilities include the economy, the housing and mortgage markets, mortgage regulation, NewBuy, demographic trends, housing supply, Affordable Housing, new home valuation, the private rented sector, customer satisfaction and the industry's Consumer Code, the Cumulative Impact of Regulation on viability and supply and Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) initiatives (FirstBuy, Get Britain Building, public land disposal). He maintains close contact with a wide range of housing experts, including officials at the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG), the HCA, HM Treasury and the Bank of England.

Before joining HBF in 2003 he was an independent housing consultant for over ten years, and previously divisional Sales & Marketing Director for house builder Wates. His publications included a monthly Viewpoint column in Housebuilder and Building a Crisis (2002) which highlighted the growing housing supply crisis in England and began to consider its social and economic consequences.

He has an MA in English from Auckland University and an MSc in Economics from Birkbeck College, London.

Customers come first

Feb. 1, 2007

Whatever design, technical or construction solutions are devised to produce zero carbon homes, the government’s target of 200,000 zero carbon homes by 2016 will only be achieved if home buyers and occupiers are prepared to live with the solutions

Housebuilding milestones

Dec. 1, 2006

December 2006 sees a number of major policy milestones on a journey that began almost five years ago

The limits of planning policy

Nov. 1, 2006

PGS rethink is needed

Oct. 1, 2006

The Treasury cannot meet all its core objectives for the planning gain supplement (PGS). With the help of the development industry, it needs to go back to the drawing board and seek a better solution

S106 demands are a risk to supply

Sept. 1, 2006

The government believes there is a large, untapped pool of residential land value waiting to fund increased planning obligations demands or a planning gain supplement. But the research used to justify this belief does not support such a conclusion

Policy support for housing growth

Aug. 1, 2006

Housebuilding has picked up by a fifth since its historic trough in 2001, but there is still a long way to go before the government’s target is met. Current policies may need to be re-examined

Affordable housing

July 1, 2006

A decade and a half of affordable housing policies* has not produced housing that is affordable. A thorough policy review is needed

Objectives Overload

June 1, 2006

The planning system ultimately has only one tool at its disposal, granting or refusing planning permission. Not surprisingly, planners struggle to deliver the government’s multiple objectives

Land for housing

May 1, 2006

If the industry is to hit the government’s housebuilding target, central and local government and local communities are going to have to face up to the need to increrase significantly the amount of residential land coming through the planning system

Responding to Barker

Feb. 1, 2006

Government is reviewing the infrastructure demands of an increased housing supply and has charged Kate Barker with reviewing the planning system. This is offers an opportunity for the industry to state its case