DATA: Nationwide reported UK house prices rose 3.2% in year to Sep 2024
They report this was “the fastest pace since November 2022” and prices are now just 2% below their peak in the summer of 2022. They also report “Northern Ireland remained the best performer by some margin, with prices up 8.6% compared with Q3 2023” while “East Anglia was the only UK region to record an annual price fall, with prices down 0.8% year-on-year”.
DATA(PDF): Zoopla reported house prices rose 0.7% in year to Aug 2024
They report “The number of sales agreed is 25% higher than a year ago as households that have held off making moving decisions over the last 2 years return to the market” and “Sales are up by over 10% across the UK and >30% higher across the East Midlands and North East”. They also report “Almost a third of homes for sale are ‘chain-free’ as investors and second home owners sell in face of recent and possible tax changes” and “Some coastal and rural areas see supply of homes for sale up 40% on last year”.
DATA: BoE published mortgage approvals data for Aug 2024
They report there were 64,858 approvals for house purchase in August, 3.8% higher than the previous month and just 2% below the pre-pandemic average. The number of approvals for remortgaging also recovered and was 9% higher than the same month last year.
DATA: BoE published effective mortgage rate data for Aug 2024
They report the average rate on new mortgage advances (both purchase and remortgage) was 4.86%, slightly higher than the 4.84% reported for the previous month. The average rate on outstanding balances also increased slightly to 3.73% (previously 3.70%).
DATA: MHCLG published statutory homelessness in England, 2023-34
They report “Initial assessments were made for 358,370 households in England in 2023-24, up 10.4% from the previous year. Of these, 324,990 households were assessed as owed a homelessness duty”. They also report “178,560 households were assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty in 2023-24. This is up 12.3% from 2022-23”.
POLICY: MHCLG letter writing
The Deputy Prime Minister wrote to the Mayor of London to inform him of “the withdrawal of the London Plan Direction and a new partnership approach” while the Housing Minister wrote to the Chair of Homes England setting out “7 priority areas of focus to support delivery of the new homes and places the country needs”.
POLICY: MHCLG published a factsheet on removing hope value from CPO
It explains “the power to remove hope value from the assessment of compulsory purchase compensation”.
REPORT: HoC Library published a briefing on the Renters’ Rights Bill
The briefing “provides background to the bill and an overview of its main provisions”.
REPORT: BoE published Financial Policy Committee Record for Q3 2024
They report “There have been further signs of easing in UK credit conditions, reflecting improvements to the macroeconomic outlook. In aggregate, UK household and corporate borrowers remain resilient to the higher interest rate environment”.
REPORT: Historic England published Heritage Works for Housing
The report “sets out how heritage can work for housing. It aims to enable and facilitate the repurposing and refurbishing of historic buildings to deliver more homes and better outcomes for all”.
REPORT: Generation Rent report on private rental tenants’ mental health
They report “Nine in 10 private renters stated that privately renting had negatively affected their mental health” and “Two in five stated that renting privately had impacted their physical health”. They also report “Overwhelmingly renters felt stressed when reporting repairs to their landlord or letting agent, with 88.1% reporting so” and “Around half of all respondents stated that a landlord or letting agent had behaved in a way towards them that made them feel physically or psychologically unsafe”.
REPORT: HBF reported on the economic footprint of house building
The report, by Lichfields “provides an up-to-date view of the economic footprint of the house building industry in both monetary and non-monetary terms”.
REPORT: Housing Forum reported on the cost of building a house
They estimate the cost to build an average house is around £242,000 while the cost for a flat is around £357,300.
REPORT: Knight Frank published Student Accommodation Survey
They report “Student preferences are evolving” and “Accommodation providers need to move with that change to support the future student cohort”.
Chart of the Week
This week the Department for Business & Trade published their monthly Construction building materials report and data. They report “the material price index for ‘All Work’ decreased by 1.1% in August 2024 compared to August 2023”.
They also publish data on seasonally adjusted brick deliveries, which are a useful leading indicator for new build completions – though care needs to be taken when comparing levels due to the off-shoring of capacity since the financial crisis. Their data shows that “deliveries of bricks increased by 13.2% in August 2024 compared to August 2023” but, despite the recovery from recent lows, they are still 22% below August 2019 levels.
