Landlords will have to fill in the gap

AMI warns against product regulation

The Government needs to move ‘faster and further’

Set to shape the future

“Bottom of London’s rental market is in sight”

Landlords will be responsible for ensuring ‘Britain has a roof over its head’ in the wake of dwindling housing supply, claims the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), meaning that with a lack of homes available to meet demand the private rental sector will end up stepping in to pick up the slack.

Stewart Lilly, chair of the Planning, New Homes and Rural group for the NAEA, said: “The Government will end up relying on buy-to-let investors to provide property for rental and ensure that Britain has a roof over its head. But to make this happen, the buy-to-let market needs assistance from the banks and it will only be ministerial pressure that will make that happen.

“It is time for the Government to make those vast investments in the banks pay by exerting some pressure on lenders to free up the market from the heavy constraints it is labouring under.”

It follows updated guidance from the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit which calls for 5% more new homes to be built a year. Lilly is also critical of the increase in regulations for developers which in turn is causing delays in completing Government development projects.

AMI warns against product regulation

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has warned against product regulation and called for average household disposable income to be the main gauge of mortgage affordability.

AMI’s latest report compares the UK mortgage market against European and US markets. It questions whether regulatory actions or inactions have had the required effect in the UK over the last five years.

The paper is intended to inform the Financial Services Authority (FSA) consultation on mortgage market regulation starting in the third quarter of this year. Dr Oonagh McDonald, former MP, Treasury spokesperson and FSA director, drafted the report, which argues that the sources of problems in the US market were not replicated in the UK and that lax lending does not cause house price bubbles.

The AMI report also said that by limiting the supply of funds or the price of those funds, the regulator would only deflate prices temporarily, creating the next bubble when the supply of funds improves. It also argued against limitations to loan-to-value (LTV) and loan-to-income ratios.

The Government needs to move ‘faster and further’

Welcoming the announcement of 2,000 new council homes, Unite has said the Government needs to move ‘faster and further’ to tackle the severe shortage of social and council housing.

Unite, the largest union in the country, welcomed the recent announcement by John Healey, housing minister, that work is to begin on building more than 2,000 council homes, but said the Government needs ‘to put its foot on the accelerator’.

Jack Dromey, Unite’s deputy general secretary, said: “This welcome step will help build Britain out of recession, providing desperately needed affordable homes and much needed jobs and apprenticeships. We want the Government to go further and faster.”

Earlier this year, Unite unveiled its blueprint, Meeting housing need: Building Britain out of recession, which called for a ‘massive’ council and social house building programme for the 4.5 million people on waiting lists.

Such a programme could act as an engine for economic revival generally, by creating thousands of jobs in the construction industry and its suppliers.

Set to shape the future

The North Bank of the Tyne Strategic Framework is set to shape the future of the 600-hectare swathe of land from Walker in Newcastle to Bull Ring Dock in North Shields, according to partners in the project including North Tyneside Council, Newcastle City Council, One North East and the Homes and Community Agency.

The partners will use the 15-20 year vision for the regeneration of the waterfront to guide future development along the riverside. The proposals, produced by independent consultants GVA Grimley for the North Bank of the Tyne Project Board have been influenced by the views of residents and partner organisations, which have been involved in a series of consultation events since December 2008. Across the area it proposes wider improvements to transportation and infrastructure, including a proposal for a transport interchange.

But it also identifies the use of some specific sites, where new business use could boost the local economy and provide much needed jobs for the region.

Now all partners will work with landowners and interested parties to develop plans to deliver the objectives of the framework plan. The proposals in the North Bank Framework and the views feedback given through its preparation will also have an important role in informing the Wallsend Area Action Plan (AAP). The AAP will be part of North Tyneside’s statutory Development Plan, providing a formal planning policy framework to support the delivery of regeneration proposals in Wallsend and Willington Quay.

“Bottom of London’s rental market is in sight”

According to Winkworth’s Property Price Guides, London sales started to improve in 2009, meaning that lettings appear to be stabilising.

London rents fell dramatically after April 2008 with rents for houses falling by -17.03% between April 2008 and September 2008 and flats by -10.84% during the same period. Despite rents continuing to fall between October 2008 and June 2009, the decrease is less defined than the previous fall. In some areas, such as Harringay, Edgware and Clerkenwell, rents for some properties have increased. Winkworth believe that houses have experienced a more marked decrease in price fall compared to flats, thanks to falling supply levels.

According to Winkworth, rental stock levels (flats and houses) have decreased by almost -10% since January 2009. As supply levels fall, demand for rental properties rises, and therefore rents are starting to stabilise and the agency believes the bottom of the rentals market in London could well be in sight.

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