DATA: ONS reported monthly GDP rose 1.0% in year to Sep 2024
They report the 0.1% monthly fall in September was “largely because of declines in manufacturing output and information and communication services”. Monthly GDP is currently just 2.8% higher than its pre-pandemic peak in January 2020.
DATA: ONS published Labour market overview, UK: November 2024
They report “Payrolled employees fell by 9,000 (0.0%) over the quarter but rose by 182,000 (0.6%) over the year” and “The UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and over was estimated at 4.3% in July to September 2024”. They also report “Annual growth in employees’ average regular earnings excluding bonuses in Great Britain was 4.8% in July to September 2024, and annual growth in total earnings including bonuses was 4.3%” though this was affected by one-off payments to the civil service.
DATA: ONS published construction output data for Sep 2024
They report “Monthly construction output is estimated to have grown by 0.1% in volume terms in September 2024” but “this came solely from a rise in repair and maintenance (0.4%) as new work fell by 0.2%”.
DATA: MoJ published mortgage and landlord possessions for Q3 2024
They report “Mortgage claims, orders, warrants and repossessions increased” compared to the same quarter last year while all landlord possession actions have also increased.
DATA: ONS reported on short-term lets booked online for Q2 2024
They report “There were 85.2 million guest nights spent in short-term lets in the UK, from July 2023 to June 2024” and “There was most seasonal fluctuation on the Isle of Wight and the Orkney Islands”. They also report “There was relatively little fluctuation in Westminster, where guest nights were consistently high throughout the year”.
DATA: NHBC published new build home registrations for Q3 2024
They report “28,724 new homes registered in Q3 2024, 40% up on Q3 2023” and “27,868 new homes completed in Q3 2024, 9% down on Q3 2023” but it is important to note that these figures undercount delivery, especially in urban areas.
DATA: MHCLG published Council Taxbase in England: 2024
See Chart of the Week for more details.
DATA: Financial Market Expectations For BoE’s Bank Rate
The chart provides a summary for the expected future level of Bank Rate based on daily data. The One Year figure was 4.19% on 13/11/2024 compared to 4.13% on 6/11/2024.
DATA: New Build Energy Performance Certificates, England
This chart provides a summary of the number of EPCs on new build properties, a useful leading indicator for net additions. The 52-week rolling total was 217,466 for the week commencing 4th November, down from 218,147 the previous week.
DATA: VOA published guidance on their property attribute data
They provide details on the data they collect and how you can check it for your own property. Unfortunately, we’re limited to their aggregated data for wider analysis.
POLICY: MHCLG announced High Street Rental Auctions
The new powers will allow councils to step in and auction a one-to-five year lease on commercial properties that have been empty for more than 365 days in a two year period.
POLICY: Scottish Gov announced New Housing Planning Hub
They suggest it “will tackle the reasons for delays, which include waits on decisions for major developments, lengthy negotiations of section 75 agreements, funding issues, or policy requirements to address issues such as flooding or biodiversity”.
POLICY: MHCLG announced the closure of The Office for Place
They report the expertise of its staff will be redeployed in MHCLG.
POLICY: HM Treasury published its Areas of Research Interest
They include “What policies could improve the affordability of housing?”.
REPORT(PDF): RICS published October Residential Market Survey
They report “Survey feedback capturing the recent trend in agreed sales and new buyer enquiries remains positive” and “Headline house price growth appears to be gradually gaining momentum” while “Expectations point to this brighter picture for activity being sustained over the near-term”.
REPORT: GLA published Housing in London 2024 report
The report provides a wealth of charts, maps, analysis and data on a range of topics related to housing in London.
REPORT: Resolution Foundation reported on low-to-middle income families
They report “Housing costs have left the budgets of low-to-middle income families more stretched” as “more low-to-middle income families now rely on the private-rented sector, with the proportion of such families renting privately rising from 18 per cent to 29 per cent between 1994-95 and 2022-23”.
REPORT: CSJ reported on tackling loneliness through the built environment
They suggest that “to meet its ambition to build 1.5 million new homes, as well as tackle loneliness, the government should embrace beauty, design codes, access to green space, neighbourhood planning and community led housing”.
REPORT: CCN reported on young people in council care
They report “an increasing amount of young people who come into local authority care are being placed in children’s residential homes, due to demand outstripping supply and foster carer capacity flatlining” and therefore “more are having to be placed in homes far away from where they live”.
REPORT: IF reported on spending on essentials by age
They report households under the age of 30 “Have to dedicate the higher proportion of their total weekly expenditure to essentials” while “Discretionary spending by under-30s has collapsed compared to 2002/3”.
REPORT: ASI reported on Development Orders
They suggest “issuing Development Orders under Section 59 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990” which “allow the Secretary of State either to grant planning permission to a specific project, or to any project in a defined area that meets whatever conditions are attached to the Order” as a mechanism to increasing planning permissions.
BLOG: James Gleeson analysed world city building heights
The blog provides an interesting insight into the GHSL Urban Centre Database with analysis of building heights and population across global cities.
CORPORATE: MJ Gleeson published AGM Trading Update
They report “Net reservation rates for the period 1 July to 1 November 2024 increased to 0.56 per site per week (0.47 excluding bulk reservations), from the 0.45 per site (0.41 excluding bulk reservations) during the same period last year”, and “Gleeson Homes continues to experience margin pressure as a result of the use of higher sales incentives, the impact of multi-unit sales, increased build costs and limited relief from increasing selling prices”.
Chart of the Week
This week MHCLG published their Council Taxbase statistics for September 2024. We already know the overall net change in number of dwellings for the year to September 2024 (213,000) but this data provides more detail on exemptions, discounts and tax bands. For example, it shows the number of exemptions because the dwelling is left empty by deceased persons actually fell slightly compared to last year (down 2.1% to 132,900) but is still up 48.8% compared to 2019 – presumably reflecting the delays to probate. The data can also be used to compare the profile of council tax bands for existing properties and the net change – broadly reflecting new additions to the valuation lists. Unsurprisingly, the new properties tend to be weighted towards higher paying bands than the existing stock.
