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/ 

Taylor Wimpey, one of the UK’s biggest housebuilders, opposed government plans to slash carbon dioxide emissions from new homes by at least three-quarters and argued against heat pumps, which are proposed as a replacement for gas boilers, one of the UK’s biggest causes of greenhouse gases. The company, which typically builds about 15,000 new homes a year, told a consultation that a target of cutting CO2 emissions from new homes by 75% to 80% from 2025 was “too high” and argued that heat pumps would be too expensive and would disappoint customers with their performance. Read more on the Guardian website.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey opposed plans to cut new home emissions | Construction industry | The Guardian

£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

UK Housing Review Downplays Developers' Role In Crisis, Critics Say

A landmark review of the housing crisis in Britain led by the boss of one of the country’s biggest housebuilders has been criticised for downplaying the lack of homes being constructed by property companies. Just 139,030 new homes were completed in the year to June 2016, according to the ONS. However, the review, led by Pete Redfern, chief executive of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, claimed the biggest drivers behind the decline in home ownership since the financial crisis were a fall in real incomes for potential first-time buyers, and banks tightening their mortgage lending. The review claimed that increasing housing supply “does not directly improve the home ownership rate” and will not solve the crisis. Read more on the Guardian website.

Most Renters Unlikely To Buy Home In Next Five Years

Almost two-thirds of renters in the UK believe they are unlikely to buy a home in the next five years, according to research for a Labour-backed inquiry into the housing crisis. The Redfern review, led by Pete Redfern, the chief executive of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, has examined the reasons for the decline in homeownership. A poll of about 2,000 people from around the UK found 62% of those living in rented accommodation felt they were unlikely to buy in the next five years. Among the population as a whole, 49% thought more should be done to disincentivise buy-to-let, while two-thirds thought the government should do more to help first-time buyers. Eight out of 10 people believed buying a property had become more difficult over the past decade. Read more on the Guardian website.

Taylor Wimpey Warns Over Plan To Build Discounted Homes For First-Time Buyers

Taylor Wimpey has warned that the government’s plan to build more than 200,000 discounted houses for first-time buyers could be in doubt because of confusion about how the scheme would work. Pete Redfern, chief executive, said the starter homes programme outlined in the autumn statement could work, but big questions remain unanswered, including over the impact on the affordable housing sector.  The government is introducing a new help-to-buy scheme for London and will lend buyers up to 40% of their deposit. Redfern said he supported the government’s aims and Taylor Wimpey wanted to take part in the plan, but that two key questions were how the 20% discount would be set and the involvement of local authorities. Read more on the Guardian website.