Hoarding Housebuilders Increase Land Banking During the Pandemic

Research reveals which of the UK’s biggest developers currently own the highest number of land bank plots, land which can, but isn’t being built on. StripeHomes analysed data on the volume of land banking plots and found that they totalled 441,702 plots in 2020, a 4% increase on the previous year. The current level of land bank plots by these housebuilders alone far exceeds the government’s target to build 300,000 new homes a year, a target they consistently fail to reach. Barratt, one of the nation’s biggest housebuilders, also claims the title of Britain’s biggest land banker. As of 2020, Barratt owned 80,324 land bank plots. Second on the list is Taylor Wimpey, owner of 77,000 land bank plots, and third is Persimmon with 67,205 plots. Read more on the Property Notify website.

https://www.propertynotify.co.uk/news/press-releases/britains-hoarding-housebuilders-increase-land-banking-plots-during-the-pandemic/ 

Demand For New Build Homes Bounces Back

Demand for new build has rebounded by 66% since the property market reopened on the 13th May, Zoopla research has found. Demand recovered nationwide, with the North East recording a 139% rebound, the West Midlands 121%, and East Midlands 108%. Persimmon Homes, one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, reported a 215% month-on-month uplift in demand via Zoopla buyer leads. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/demand-for-new-build-homes-bounces-back/

House Prices Remain Firm At Persimmon Despite Lockdown

Housebuilder Persimmon has not seen a big drop in house prices during lockdown, but its forward sales have taken a hit. Persimmon said the average selling price for a new home in its order book was around £244,500, up from £237,850 in 2019. The company’s forward sales position was “robust” at £2.4 billion, Persimmon said, however it is down from £2.7 billion the year before. Read more on the AOL website.

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2020/04/29/house-prices-remain-firm-at-persimmon-despite-lockdown/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c2luZ25ldC5jby51ay9Ib3VzaW5nX05ld3MvSG91c2luZ05ldF9OZXdzX1VubG9ja2VkLmh0bWw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC7HibRXiCLQ-PEfHThhZMrZGfo8m__17Rs-mfPP80Lt0NhGku68cMY_UbHzV8sck0VSkebaS7uoiMlHt5M0u2RQGqAl1HB2EB9M-2s6dcPU8yUlFSW-185puyCAPHboR8SdHklmFBg4LrrMrSsbRtCQQRKM41M61iUIUTiEsjhr

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the investigation into Persimmon new build properties, which found thousands of homes did not comply with building regulations and many of which were bought under the Help to Buy scheme, what plans he has to ensure that properties sold by other developers under that scheme conform to (a) building regulations and (b) other requirements.

Esther McVey: House builders are responsible for ensuring they build high quality homes which are fit for purpose. Persimmon’s independent review has identified serious failings and they will want to take immediate action to address the concerns raised. We will also create a New Homes Ombudsman to ensure homebuyers have a means of redress.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-12-20/266

Jenrick Demands Immediate Action From Persimmon

Robert Jenrick has urged Persimmon to take immediate action following an independent report which found the housebuilder guilty of a “systemic,  nationwide” failure to install critical fire-safety materials. The report, by Stephanie Barwise QC, found that a lack of processes to ensure build quality and staff supervision, training and assessment were responsible for the failure by Britain’s second-largest builder to install vital cavity barriers in new timber-frame homes. The housing secretary’s comments come amid sharp criticism of the builder. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/jenrick-demands-immediate-action-from-persimmon/5103394.article

MP Demands Persimmon Pay £500K Before Massive Housing Project Begins

A developer is facing demands to pay half-a-million pounds owed to Redditch Council before starting work on a massive new estate. Persimmon Homes has submitted an outline application for 960 homes, including full permission 128 dwellings, in Brockhill East but the town's MP says the company still owes £521,000 to the borough council. The money is due as a condition of previous planning permissions to pay for public amenities and is referred to as Section 106 money. Read more on the Bromsgrove Advertiser website.

https://www.bromsgroveadvertiser.co.uk/news/17805560.mp-demands-persimmon-pay-500k-massive-housing-project-begins/

'New-Build Homes Not Fire Safe'

Houses developed by Persimmon Homes and Bellway Homes have potentially dangerous fire safety issues, BBC Watchdog Live has found. New-builds constructed by the firms were sold with missing or incorrectly installed fire barriers, which are designed to inhibit the spread of fire. In some cases, it's thought a lack of fire barriers contributed to the spread of fires that have destroyed homes. Persimmon Homes and Bellway Homes both said they were addressing the issue. Building Regulations require that by law new homes are built with fire protection measures to delay the spread of fire and allow crucial time for escape. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48113301

Persimmon Is Named Britain's Worst Builder Again

The challenges facing Persimmon's new bosses have been laid bare after the firm was named Britain's worst major housebuilder again. In a survey of 60,955 people, it was awarded three stars out of five by the Home Builders Federation for the fourth year running. The rankings put it behind FTSE 100 rivals Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, who both received five stars. Read more on the thisismoney website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-6853915/Persimmon-named-Britains-worst-builder-amid-criticism-fat-cat-pay-shoddy-workmanship.html

Persimmon Launches Retention Scheme For Home Buyers

Persimmon is launching a ‘retention’ scheme for home buyers to protect them from construction problems. The scheme will see 1.5% of a home’s value withheld by the buyer’s solicitor until any build faults are resolved. The average amount withheld based on current selling prices will be around £3,600 per home. Persimmon lawyers are now drawing-up details of the new standard contract which is expected to be in place by the end of June. Read more on the Construction Enquirer website.

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2019/03/21/persimmon-launches-retention-scheme-for-home-buyers/

Outrage As Help-To-Buy Boosts Persimmon Profits To £1bn

Housebuilder Persimmon made a record-breaking £1bn profit last year – equal to more than £66,000 on every one of the homes it sold – with almost half of its house sales made through the taxpayer-funded help-to-buy scheme. The builder, which sparked widespread public and political outrage for attempting to pay its former chief executive Jeff Fairburn a bonus of £110m, posted pre-tax profits of £1.09bn. The huge profit – the biggest ever made by a UK housebuilder – means Persimmon banked £66,265 from every one of the 16,449 homes it sold last year. The average selling price was just over £215,000. The profit from each house it sells has nearly tripled since 2013, when the government introduced the help-to-buy scheme. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/feb/26/persimmon-profits-help-to-buy-scheme

Persimmon Expects Higher Profits As Help-To-Buy Props Up Prices

Persimmon has upgraded its annual profit forecast after building more houses and increasing its prices, with nearly half the homes sold using the government’s help-to-buy scheme. Britain’s second-biggest housebuilder reported a 4% rise in revenues to £3.7bn in 2018. The average selling price for private homes rose 2% to £238,877. The company said the housing market was underpinned by robust employment levels, low interest rates and competitive mortgages. Persimmon is one of the main beneficiaries of the taxpayer-funded help-to-buy scheme, which supported 48% of the firm’s house sales last year, similar to 2017. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/15/persimmon-profits-help-to-buy-prices 

£230m Windfall For Top Builders Since Start Of Help To Buy

The bosses of Britain's biggest builders have been paid more than £230million since the Help to Buy scheme was launched five years ago, the Mail can reveal. The chief executives of seven leading companies including Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey have seen their pay triple on the back of the taxpayer-funded subsidy. Profits have also jumped fourfold since George Osborne's housing programme was introduced in April 2013. But the number of new homes built has grown by just 50 per cent. Read more on the This is Money website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-6364383/230m-windfall-builders-start-Help-Buy.html

Persimmon Sales Soar As Boss Takes Home £100m Payout

Persimmon hoped to put controversy over its executive pay scheme behind it by reporting that full-year profits will beat market expectations after revenues soared last year on the back of “healthy” demand. The FTSE 100 housebuilder sold 16,000 homes in 2017, 6pc more than the year before, helping push revenues up 9pc to £3.4bn. Its average selling price climbed 3pc to £213,300. Persimmon said it "continued to experience healthy customer demand for new homes through the autumn sales season", adding that forward sales at the end of the year were 10pc higher than in 2016 at £1.4bn. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Housebuilders Have 'Licence To Print Money'

Experts claims housebuilders have a “licence to print money” as rock solid demand for housing delivers bumper sales for a raft of firms. The comments came as Persimmon issued a buoyant set of third quarter results, pushing up the share prices 2% in early trading. The company described trading in the weeks following Britain’s decision to quit the European Union as “encouraging”, adding that customer activity strengthened at the start of autumn. After the firm posted its results, Neil Wilson, markets analyst, said: “In fact being a housebuilder right now in Britain, with ultra-low interest rates and Help to Buy, is a licence to print money. A chronic shortage of housing means they can rely on rock solid demand whatever the economic conditions.” Read more on the Chronicle website.

Housebuilders' Profits Dominating Over Social Worth

Alister Scott, Professor of Environmental and Spatial Planning from Birmingham City University, has claimed that a "one-sided approach" to housebuilding means that potential sites are judged on the financial profits they will reap for developers, rather than on their social or environmental viability - which has led to a reduction of more expensive sites on brownfields, putting more pressure on green belt plots. The professor insists that the UK urgently needs to move away from a "fix on housing, green belt or transport in separate silos", and build "communities and places" rather than merely houses. Professor Scott was speaking in the wake of housebuilder Persimmon's call for a review of the green belt to potentially free up more land for development.  Read more on 24dash.

Housebuilder's Profits Soar on Back of Help to Buy

Britain's second biggest housebuilder has revealed a surge in annual profit after the government's Help to Buy scheme fuelled demand for new homes and helped send mortgage approvals to their highest level in almost 6½ years. Persimmon said underlying pre-tax profit jumped 49% to £330m in the year to the end of December – near the top end of City forecasts. The first few weeks of this year's crucial spring selling season went well, it added. The company said sale completions rose by 16% to 11,528 and the average selling price increased 4% to £181,861. Forward sales, which are agreed but not completed, were up 41% to £1.4bn. Read more on the Guardian website.