Housing: Prices – Parliamentary Written Answer

 Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes in the level of house prices on the UK’s economic recovery.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: HM Treasury does not prepare formal forecasts for house prices or the outlook on the UK economy, which are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). In its March forecast, the OBR expects that GDP will grow by 4% in 2021 and return to its pre-Covid peak in 2022. The OBR also forecasts annual house price growth of 5% in 2021. The latest available data shows that UK average house prices reached £266,000 in June 2021.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2021-09-06/HL2449

Stamp Duty Holiday Has Only Limited Impact On Housing Market

A leading agency claims the stamp duty holiday has actually had a minimal impact in the mainstream market, despite many suggestions to the contrary. Using OnTheMarket data, Knight Frank says that last month - March - there was a 30 per cent rise in the number of properties going under offer in England and Wales compared to the same month last year. “There was some effect from Covid-19 towards the tail end of March last year, but the breakdown by price band is revealing [about the impact on the market of the holiday]” says Knight Frank. Read more on the Estate Agent Today website.

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2021/4/stamp-duty-holiday-has-minimal-impact-for-much-of-market--claim 

Landlords And Tenants Both Worried About Impact Of COVID-19

Three quarters (73%) of landlords are worried their tenants will not be able to pay all or part of the rent, research consultancy Opinium found. Meanwhile 70% of landlords are concerned that their tenants will vacate, leaving them with an empty property. The majority (58%) of renters who were working before the COVID-19 outbreak report they have had their employment impacted in some way, Two fifths (43%) of those whose work has been impacted have struggled to pay rent, bills or other essentials such as food. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/landlords-and-tenants-both-worried-about-impact-of-covid-19

Where Help To Buy Made The Biggest Impact

Zoopla has calculated where Help To Buy has made the most dramatic impact on the housing market - and the West Yorkshire town of Wakefield is top of the list. In the 12 months to the end of the second quarter of this year Wakefield was the most popular area for Help to Buy loans, followed by Central Bedfordshire. In London the borough of Tower Hamlets saw the capital’s most Help to Buy loans followed by Barnet. Zoopla found Waltham Forest saw the largest H2B increase in demand in one year - up 241.3 per cent. Read more on the Estate Agent Today website.

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/12/revealed-where-help-to-buy-made-the-biggest-impact-on-the-market

How Will Brexit Affect The Housing With Care And Supported Housing Market?

Whatever the Deal or No Deal, very little has been reported on the implications on the housing with care and supported housing sector. For this reason, Housing LIN surveyed its members to find out what contingency and other plans have been made and to capture their views. Responses to the survey were used to build a snapshot of relevant sectors around planning and risk assessments, in particular, regarding staffing issues, housing demand, impacts on customers, costs, finance and investment decisions. Download a copy of the report from the Housing LIN website.

https://www.housinglin.org.uk/_assets/Resources/Housing/Support_materials/Briefings/HLIN_Briefing_Brexit-Survey.pdf

Report Reinforces ‘Significant Impact’ Of Universal Credit On Landlords

A new report reinforces the difficulties social landlords are still facing from the roll-out of Universal Credit (UC). The Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) report Impact of Universal Credit – The Frontline Perspective summarises a year-long study of UC, highlighting the experiences of 85 of its member organisations and their tenants across the North. Key concerns that have emerged include the following:

·         95% of participants reported that their tenants were having difficulty in meeting housing costs.

·         There is a significant impact on landlords, with 92% reporting staff were spending more time supporting people through the UC process than the Housing Benefit process.

·         Communication problems between participants (and their tenants) and the DWP

Download the report from the NHC website.

Government Has ‘Not Evaluated’ The Impact Of Its Reforms On Homelessness

Government has not evaluated the impact of its welfare reforms on homelessness, or the impact of the mitigations that it has put in place, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). An NAO report says the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) does not have a published cross-government strategy to prevent and tackle homelessness – despite acknowledging the scale of the challenge and plans to improve the data the government holds on homelessness. Download the report from the NAO website.

SDLT Reform Has ‘Shattered The Property Market’

The government’s decision to introduce stamp duty land tax (SDLT) reforms 12 months ago has had an adverse impact on the overall housing market across England and Wales, fresh research shows. Analysis of data from Land Registry and Zoopla reveals that the number of homes changing hands has fallen by almost a fifth - 19% - across England and Wales and by as much as 35% in London, as the government’s 3% stamp duty surcharge on second homes deters many investors from buying property. The most significant slowdown in activity was at the top end of the market, with the vast majority of listed properties valued at more than £500,000 remaining unsold. Read more on Property Investor Today.

Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in social housing rents on the maintenance and improvement of the existing housing stock, and on the building of new houses between now and 2022.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The fiscal impact of the social rent reduction policy on public finances was included as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s policy costings for Budget 2015 which can be (attached) found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443195/Policy_costings_summer_budget_2015.pdf . In September 2015 the CLGcarried out an impact assessment of the effect of the social rent reduction policy on housing associations which can be (attached) found at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impactassessments/IA15-006F.pdf .  Social housing providers are well placed to manage these reductions and have proved themselves to be more than capable of adapting and responding to change. The Government is investing £7.1 billion in the expanded Affordable Homes Programme from 2016-21, which will support housing associations and local authorities to build another 225,000 affordable homes by March 2021.

The Variable Impact Of The LHA Cap Across Different Areas

The CIH, in collaboration with Riverside, have produced a research report on supported housing which covers:

·         The significant variation in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap across the country

·         Rents and service charges for supported and sheltered housing are relatively consistent across the country for similar types of scheme.

·         A higher LHA cap would reduce the numbers of people affected by the new system

·         A relatively small increase in the LHA cap for older people living in sheltered housing would have a large impact in reducing the number of people reliant on the local top up

·         A higher LHA cap could go some way to simplifying the new system

Download the report from the CIH website.

Landlords Scramble To Avoid Higher Buy-To-Let Taxes

Buy to let landlords are scrambling to avoid the impact of tax changes that come into effect next year. The Buy to Let Britain report found landlords were restructuring their portfolios to escape higher taxes on their rental income, which will be phased in from April 2017. Some landlords have set up limited companies while others have increased rents or transferred properties to family members. The average rent in Great Britain has hit a record high of £881 a month, and landlords indicated they intended to raise prices by an average of 5.4% – the equivalent of £571 a year for households. Strong house price growth has pushed the value of rented accommodation in the UK to £1.3tn, up by 16% in the last year to September. Read more on the Guardian website.

Social Landlords Fund Research Into Universal Credit

A London council has commissioned independent research into the effects of Universal Credit on social housing tenants. Peabody Trust, Family Mosaic and Croydon Council have backed the council’s decision to commission research on the impact of Universal Credit (UC) and will all pay towards the costs. Labour-led Southwark Council said the full roll-out of Universal Credit in some parts of the borough, coupled with changes made through the Housing and Planning Act, has represented “an onslaught on social housing – and on council tenants in particular”. The research will cost £56,250, with Peabody, Family Mosaic and Croydon Council contributing £22,500. The Smith Institute has been commissioned to carry out the research. Read more on Inside Housing.

The Right to Buy? Selling Off Public and Social Housing

Introduced under the Thatcher government, ‘Right to Buy’ has had a formative effect on housing in the UK for the past 35 years. In The Right to Buy? Selling Off Public and Social Housing, Alan Murie examines the policy’s long-standing and ongoing impact, and considers the implications of its more recent extension. While more explicit political analysis of the consequences of ‘Right to Buy’ would have bolstered the book’s arguments, John Picton welcomes this timely, detailed and important read. Find a review of this book on the LSE website.

BME Communities ‘Disproportionately Impacted’ By Universal Credit

The Race Equality Foundation (REF) has said the move to Universal Credit will have a severe impact on the lives of those from BME communities. The research says UC will leave black and minority ethnic families worse off due to more receiving benefits and tax credits.  The government have estimated 16% of UC claimants will be of BME backgrounds, which is higher than the percentage of the population as a whole. They have also stated that whilst Universal Credit looks to incentivise people into work, the Work Programme has failed to work for BME people. This has left them remaining either in workless households or on low and insecure employment. Read more on 24Housing.

Housebuilders Weather Brexit But London Market Loses Shine

London housebuilder Berkeley has sounded a more cautious note on the impact of Britain's decision to leave the European Union than rival Redrow, which is less exposed to investment buyers and foreign money. Uncertainty following the June 23 referendum meant customers were taking longer to buy, Berkeley said. Housebuilding was one of the sectors hardest hit by the vote to quit the EU, with shares in the country's biggest companies losing about a quarter of their value in the following weeks. And the impact has also been felt on the ground, with Berkeley recently halting construction at a luxury housing project in southwest London, where homes were expected to sell for up to 5 million pounds, without saying why. Read more on the Reuters website.

Council Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in council housing rents on new council housing and the existing stock.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Our decision on social rent reductions was based on the need to put welfare spending on a sustainable footing, whilst protecting the most vulnerable. The housing benefit bill for the social sector in England rose by a quarter over ten years, reaching £13.2 billion in 2014/15. We believe that local authorities and private registered providers will be able to find and make efficiencies to accommodate the new rent settlement. The Government remains committed to delivering 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2021.

Average UK House Price Rose £17,000 In Year To June

Property buyers pushed house prices higher in June, undaunted by the prospect of the Brexit vote and warnings of an impending price crash. Official figures showed that the average UK house price jumped 8.7% from the same month last year, almost four times the 2.2% average annual rise in wages. The strength of the rise appeared to show a strong rebound from earlier in the year, when buyers were clearly nervous about the outcome of the referendum and its impact on the housing market. A 1% increase from May pushed up the average price of a UK home by £17,000 from the same month last year to a new record of £214,000. Read more on the ONS website.

22,592 Private Renting Households Evicted Over The Past 12 Months

Shelter says the “terrible impact” of welfare cuts and “chronic lack” of affordable homes is reflected in the 22,592 private renting households in England evicted by bailiffs in the last twelve months – the equivalent of 56,480 people and 88% higher than the number five years ago. Shelter spoke out on the release of latest mortgage and landlord repossession statistics from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) this week. The loss of a private tenancy remains the single biggest cause of homelessness in the country.  Read more on 24dash.

Disability Charities Urge 'End To Funding Uncertainty' For Supported Housing

The 15 charities wrote to the Government, calling on it to set out what would happen to housing benefit rates for the supported housing sector from 2018 onwards. Earlier this year, the Government announced a one-year exemption for the supported housing sector from a planned 1% reduction in rent. It also delayed for 12 months the introduction of the local housing allowance (LHA) cap - which affects residents living in supported housing. The Government has commissioned a review into the impact of its proposals but the charities warned that 40% of existing supported accommodation would be at risk of closure if the allowance cap went ahead. Fears have been expressed that the changes would reduce the amount of money supported housing providers receive in rent and could make it more difficult for them to deliver specialist services. Read more on the Express & Star website.

What Brexit Means For House Prices

The housing market has been at the centre of a storm in recent years. Now the vote to leave the EU has added yet another major change which will create even more uncertainty for households and businesses. The impact on the private market is likely to be felt more in levels of market activity than in price changes. With many buyers adopting a 'wait and see' stance until they can ascertain what Brexit means for both the economy, the number of sales will no doubt fall. Past experience suggests this could be anything between a 5-15% drop in sales volumes. At present we don't expect widespread house price falls. Read more on the politics.co.uk website.