Housing Set For Mid-Year Slump

But activity set to pick up again later in the year as wider economy rebounds from the pandemic.Housing is set for a mid-year slump following the end of the stamp duty holiday and the first phase of the Help to buy scheme on 31 March, according to a Construction Products Association (CPA) Survey. The end of the government schemes are expected to put the brakes on a still thriving market which was seeing higher levels of mortgage lending and property transactions at the end of last year than before the pandemic. Read more on the CPA website.

https://www.constructionproducts.org.uk/news-media-events/news/2021/january/construction-bouncing-back-despite-w-shaped-recession-and-recovery/

Right-To-Buy Policy ‘Will Cut New-Build Social Housing’

The controversial extension of “right to buy” to housing association tenants is set to trigger a 10 per cent fall in public home building this year, construction industry experts have warned. The forecasts from the Construction Products Association intensify the spotlight on a policy that critics say will discourage home-building and exacerbate the nation’s acute housing shortage. The CPA predicts that the uncertainty caused by the policy will see public housing starts fall 10 per cent to 27,057 this year, after the Budget caused a hiatus in building work, as well as a further 5 per cent fall next year. Read more on the Independent website.

Housing Starts in 2012 Less Than Half Needed To Meet Demand

Housing starts in 2012 are expected to be fewer than half those needed to meet the number of households created, according to a forecast by the Construction Products Association.  Despite a “steady recovery in the private housing market”, the association says that 2012 will once again see a significant shortfall in the number of new homes built, with only 114,500 homes expected to start on site.  This includes 95,400 homes in the private sector and 19,100 affordable homes. This represents a significant increase compared to figures for 2011, which showed that housing starts were down by 4%, to less than 100,000 homes.  However, the National Housing Federation has repeatedly warned that the country needs to build up to 230,000 homes every year to cope with growing demand.  Read more on 24dash.