Empty homes plan backed
A TEES housing chief has backed proposals to boost the UK’s affordable housing stock by taking empty homes off cash-strapped developers - but said they might not be good enough to meet social housing standards.
As tightening economic conditions and spiraling house prices combine to deflate demand for home-ownership, the National Housing Federation (NHF) is urging associations to snap up empty stock at discounted rates.
The move aims to address a chronic shortage of affordable housing in Britain, with the number of new homes being built by local authorities and housing associations during the past decade falling to its lowest level since 1947.
But Sarah Fawcett, head of property and development at Housing Hartlepool, said many associations would struggle to find funding.
She said: “We would certainly back it if it became feasible. However, the Housing Corporation insists that environmental standards in homes built by housing associations are higher than those stipulated in building regulations for private dwellings. Off-the-shelf developments do not meet these standards.”
If it goes ahead, the scheme would be a boost for developers, who in recent months have been hit by a double whammy of rising raw material prices and falling sales.
With developers’ share prices plummeting, Halifax Bank of Scotland revealed the housebuilding sector accounted for around half of its £200m corporate investment portfolio write-downs.
However, the bank said its multi-billion pound exposure to the sector was mainly to niche sections of the market, such as retirement housing and urban regeneration, rather than “volume-led” housebuilders.
Today, property website Rightmove said homeowners had cut their asking prices by 1.2% during the past month as the reality of the housing market downturn hits home.
They slashed prices by nearly £3,000 during the five weeks to June 14 to an average £239,564, reducing annual house price growth to just 0.1%.
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