House Prices Soar As Market Recovery Continues

The latest data and analysis from Home.co.uk has revealed that the UK property market has stepped up a gear and sent house prices soaring, fuelled by pent-up demand and delayed sales. However, despite surging supply, the overall stock count remains 9.1% lower than in August 2019, as suppressed demand devours the new listings. According to recent figures, estate agents had a phenomenally busy month in July, taking on vast amounts of new instructions at the same time as properties were being snapped up. Moreover, new listings are being placed on the market with markedly higher asking prices. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/house-prices-soar-as-market-recovery-continues.html

Association Seals First Voluntary Right To Buy

Home Group have announced its first successful Voluntary Right To Buy (VRTB) sale. The £200m pilot, which offers eligible customers the opportunity to purchase their home at Right To Buy level discounts, is taking place in the Midlands. The project comes off the back of measures announced in the government’s Social Housing Green Paper last year, aimed at making it easier for people to progress into home ownership. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/association-seals-first-voluntary-right-to-buy/

Common Misconception Over Durability Of Modern Modular Homes

Research by YouGov on behalf of Home Group found that over half of those surveyed say they would not want to live in a modular home, yet nearly 90% failed to identify a modern modular product. Just under half (41%) believe that modern modular builds are not as durable as traditionally-built homes. Using a selection of images from which respondents could identify modular homes, many identified the two container home images as modular (75% and 78% respectively), whereas only 11% identified today’s product as a modular home. Read more on the Home Group website.

https://www.homegroup.org.uk/Media/News/Home-Group-news/Public-perceptions-of-modular-homes-not-based-on-modular-products

Sector Scorecard Gets Industry Backing

A pilot scheme designed to improve efficiency in the affordable housing sector has received backing from industry leaders. The Sector Scorecard aims to create an agreed set of metrics upon which housing providers can compare their performances and ensure they are providing value for money for their customers.  The scheme has received the backing of Housing Minister Gavin Barwell and NHF chief executive David Orr. The Sector Scorecard will measure 15 indicators across five general areas focusing on: business health, development, outcomes delivered, effective asset management and operating efficiencies. Read more on the Home Group website.

Home Group To Help Those Set To Miss Out On Right To Buy

Home Group has devised a way to help its customers overcome one of the biggest barriers to owning a place of their own – saving for a deposit while paying rent. Home Group has committed to match, pound for pound, the Government cash bonus to savers using a Help to Buy ISA to save for a mortgage deposit. In what is believed to be a sector first, Home Group will also commit to a house price inflation freeze of up to five years as customers gather a deposit to buy their home. Customers who express an intention to buy their home could also benefit from reduced rent while they are saving. Read more on the Home Group website.

How to Tackle Digital Exclusion

For providers the potential cost savings of, for example, moving customers to online repair forms are lost if customers can't access digital services. Jobs, cheaper bills, education and training and cheaper groceries are all available online, not to mention social networking which can tackle social exclusion.  Three years ago Home Group started running silver surfer sessions in sheltered housing schemes. They were a hit, with customers learning how to use social media and find information using Google. A few customers even went out and bought their own laptops. However it soon became clear that forking out £200 – £300 for a laptop and the monthly broadband fees needed to go online were beyond the means of many. What was the point in moving services online if the very people they were designed for couldn't afford to access them? That's when Home Group made a £600,000 commitment to install free communal computers in every single one of the care and support services that wanted it.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Welfare Cut Could Push More People into Housing Crisis

The head of one of the UK’s largest affordable housing providers has said welfare cuts outlined in the Budget could see affordable housing become unaffordable to people on the lowest incomes. Mark Henderson, Home Group chief executive, claimed the welfare cap outlined by George Osborne could see increasing numbers of people struggle to keep a roof above their heads as housing benefit could fail to keep up with minimum increases in housing costs. Mr Osborne outlined a welfare cap of £119bn in 2015/16 which in future rises will be limited to whichever is the lower between the Consumer Price Index or a rise of 1%. With Government setting annual affordable rent increases at CPI +1% Mr Henderson fears those on the lowest incomes will see an ever widening gap in their incomes and the cost of their rent. Read more on the Home Group website.

Delivery Model Key To 200k Homes Pledge

A future Labour government will have to get the delivery model right to achieve its house building aspirations of 1 million new homes in five years.  Home Group has mapped out a model of delivery – Housing Zones – which could make Labour’s housing aspirations achievable. Home Group’s Housing Zone model brings together a range of existing measures into one coherent framework that makes it suitable for large scale development of the right houses in the right locations, including;

• Incentives and powers granted to allow developers, housing associations and local authorities to dramatically increase the delivery of new housing of all tenures within the zones
• enhanced Compulsory Purchase Orders to enable site amalgamation
• Relaxation of planning regulations

Read more on the Home Group website.

Pay to Stay Would Discourage Employment

Increasing rents for social housing tenants once they pass an earnings threshold would act as a ‘perverse disincentive, discouraging work’, according to a report published this morning.  The study from the Centre for London, which was funded by housing associations Home Group and Family Mosaic, backs the idea of linking rent to pay, but says increases should be progressive. It also says social tenancies should be for life.  The report, Home-work: Helping London’s social tenants into employment, also says social landlords should do more to help their tenants get into work, including considering setting up nurseries.  Download a copy of the report from the Demos website.

‘Needs Test All New Tenants’

Housing providers should needs test all new tenants to provide better early intervention services, according to a new report.  The report, Under one roof, will be published by think tank Demos on Monday (28 May) and is funded by housing association Home Group.  It suggests housing associations should look at how a difficult economic climate, increasing unemployment and cuts to benefits affect their tenants.  It advocates a system where all new tenants are treated as potentially vulnerable and given a needs assessment so that any potential problems can be found early.  The report suggests encouraging ‘community leaders’, who would be able to alert providers to any problems, and promoting a good neighbour culture.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Sector Split over Shapps' Tenant Cashback 'Re-Announcement'

Grant Shapps' "re-announcement" of a scheme to allow social tenants to control their repairs budget has divided opinion in the sector. Home Group is offering its tenants tailored DIY courses at a B&Q training centre and is running three pilot projects called ‘Customer Rewards’. Rosemary Du Rose, executive director of customer service, said: “The people taking part say the Customer Reward Scheme gives them a sense of ownership for the upkeep and maintenance of their homes. There is a real appetite among our customers to take part in our Customer Rewards scheme." However, others in the sector aren’t embracing the tenant cashback scheme. Keith Exford, chief executive of Affinity Sutton, said he thought the scheme was "ill-advised", that it would "cost landlords more" and that it appears to involve jobs that aren't even in the landlord's remit. He added the new tenant cashback scheme would also create opportunities for "fraud and coercion". Read more on 24dash.

Housing Association Chiefs Debate Right to Buy Extension

Calls to extend the Right to Buy to all housing association tenants have been greeted with a mixed response. Housing association Home Group, which owns more than 50,000 homes, argues the measure could inject "£68 million into the economy", while others have warned it's "not the right solution to the current housing crisis." Read what HA Chief Executives have to say on 24dash.

Economy Could Gain £68bn from Right to Buy Extension

The Government could inject more than £68 billion into the UK economy by extending Right to Buy opportunities to housing association tenants, according to one of the UK’s largest registered landlords. Home Group - which owns more than 50,000 properties - has released figures which show the construction sector could widely benefit from a change in legislation. The housing group says that one fifth of housing association tenants currently prevented from buying their homes would be ready to make the move – representing around 200,000 sales. Home Group says that with the promise by the Government to see a new home built for each property sold – and with the average new housing association property costing £120,000 to build – £24 billion would directly be spent in the construction sector. Read more on the Home Group website.