industry news 9 NHBC HOUSING REPORT


Q2 shows increase in new registrations, but growth in housing market variable


by Jack Wooler


its latest report, making it the highest quarter for registrations since Q4 2007. The NHBC recorded 41,222 registrations,


T


compared with the previous year’s Q2 score of 40,931. Completions were coincidentally also up by 1 per cent, from 38,580 in Q2 last year to 38,841. However, growth variations across the UK presented a mixed picture in the period. The growth has been driven by the private


sector, said the NHBC, whose contribution was 6 per cent, while the public sector’s contribution had declined by 13 per cent. Neil Jefferson, NHBC business development director, com- mented that this drop was significant when compared with a reasonably large Q2 for the public sector in 2015. Jefferson said that recent turmoil in the public


sector, with some housing associations moving into the private sector, helped to explain the figures: “The affordable housing sector and housing associations have been through a quite


QUALITY AND WORKMANSHIP


welcomed 10 recommendations made by a government inquiry into the quality and workman- ship of new housing. The LABC was giving evidence to the


Government quality push backed by LABC L


ocal Authority Building Control (LABC), which represents local authority building control teams in England and Wales, has


Commission of Inquiry which was established by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment. The inquiry report which was titled ‘More Homes, Fewer Complaints’ lists the recommendations and these have all been welcomed by the LABC. One of the 10 recommendations was that the


Government should establish a New Homes Ombudsman to mediate in disputes between con- sumers and homebuilders or warranty providers. This would be paid for by a levy on homebuilders and would be “a good way of applying pressure on housebuilders and warranty providers to deliver a better quality service.” The report’s other key recommendations


included standardising housebuilding sales contracts, giving buyers the right to inspect


properties before completion, requiring house- builders to provide buyers with a comprehensive information pack, a significant increase in skills training programmes, having the DCLG conduct a thorough review of warranties and making the annual customer satisfaction survey more independent of HBF and NHBC to boost customer confidence. Commenting, LABC chief executive, Paul Ever-


all said: “We are aware that consumer satisfaction of new build homes has dropped in recent years. Perhaps this is understandable in that the recession badly disrupted the diverse and complex home building industry while at the same time higher compliance standards were introduced. However, the whole industry should choose to do something to correct this drop in quality.” He added: “We also know that purchasers some-


times struggle to have their complaints addressed and are confused by the different roles of the developer, structural warranty provider and building control. “Overall, we believe the inquiry has successfully identified the key issues and produced 10


he total number of new home registra- tions for Q2 this year were up 1 per cent year on year, the NHBC confirmed in


dramatic time. Following announcements a year ago on rent caps, changes in Government grant funding, and a re-definition of what affordable housing looks like, quite a number of housing associations have moved their business brands into private sector development. So actually, I wouldn’t say it's a huge number.” The figures from across the UK presented


something of a mixed message in regional registrations. For Q2, six regions were up and six were down. Even pre-Brexit, Greater London recorded a notable decline, down by 29 per cent from Q2 2015, along with Wales at -30 per cent. By contrast registrations were up by 37 per cent in the south east, and 34 per cent in the north east. Mike Quinton, NHBC chief executive,


explained that quarterly figures can often be “less reliable than ‘rolling’ 12 month statistics.” Neil Jefferson agreed, saying: “They can be quite volatile." Regional NHBC figures for the rolling 12 months between July 2015 and June 2016 saw completions up 6 per cent across the UK. They also showed Greater London up 15 per cent, and generally positive figures across the board, with only the East down 1 per cent and the North


East down 5 per cent portraying any negativity. The NHBC also reported that housing types


are also shifting in the changing economy. Detached houses as a proportion of registrations have overtaken flats. With London still domi- nated by flats, figures showed that the UK as a whole is moving towards semi-detached and detached houses, rising by 54 per cent. Neil Jefferson commented: “Since the recov-


ery from the recession, we’ve seen an increase in semi-detached and detached houses.” John Stewart, director of Economic Affairs,


HBF, welcomed the “very positive figures.” He said: “I think the really interesting number is the fact that registrations are the highest quarterly total since Q4 2007, which was just before the 2008 crash, and close to the peak of the market.”


sensible recommendations.” LABC advocated more transparency and better


information being given to purchasers. Addition- ally, it recommended definitions of best practice, an industry commitment to effective third-party inspection and a boost for training. Everall concluded: “Buyers are starved of


information that is used within the industry. In particular, purchasers could be told the standard to which a home is built and what checks and inspections have been done and by whom. “Competition was introduced into building


control over 30 years ago and while this may have had its benefits for developers, the increased choice of providers in recent years has produced price and service-based competition, which some people have described as a race to the bottom. LABC would welcome the introduction of minimum standards for building control


inspections to support consumer


protection. For similar reasons, LABC also supports a review of warranties because they have also become varied, competitive and price driven.”


respond online at www.hbdonline.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60