6 INDUSTRY NEWS
NHBC reveals the changing shape of UK households
More people are living alone, more children are being raised by single parents, and more grown-up children are living with their parents than ever before, a new report by the NHBC Foundation has revealed. The report found that in 2017, 28 per
cent of households were occupied by single people, increased from 13 per cent seen in 1961. A range of factors are believed to contribute towards this increase, such as people marrying later in life, couples divorcing, or the death of a partner. Evidence has been found that the
traditional ‘nuclear family’ of two parents and 2.4 children is becoming a thing of the past. Ten per cent of all households were found to be single-parent families, accounting for about one in four of all families with children. The NHBC found that there were 3.4
million households in the UK where young adults still lived at home in 2017. This is an increase of 30 per cent, up from 2.6 million in 2007. This is reportedly due in part to more young adults choosing to stay in education, those returning to their parental home following university, the increased deposits needed to buy a home, and high house prices. Steve Wood, NHBC chief executive,
commented on the figures: “The changing shape of UK households will deter- mine the houses we live in in the future. The growing strain of young people unable to afford to leave home will drive demand for multi-generational accommodation.” He believes that, as a result: “More
homes will be designed with flexible layouts which can be adapted as families’ needs change, and more “micro-living” options will be required for the increasing numbers of single people.” The facts about UK households come
from the forthcoming NHBC Foundation publication, ‘40 facts: homes, housing and house building today’. Steve Wood explained: “We have gathered together some interesting facts about UK housing and house building to give you a picture of the homes we live in today. Economic and socio-demographic factors are changing the shape of housing and I am sure that this will continue as developers respond to societal pressures for a broader range of products and tenures.”
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK HOUSEHOLD SURVEY STATS
1) 3.4 million – households with 20 to 34-year olds living with parents 2) 57 per cent – proportion of households consisting of just one or two adults 3) 39 per cent – proportion of households with children 4) 4 per cent – proportion of other household types, e.g. House share, multigenerational living 5) 28 per cent – proportion of people living alone 6) 10 per cent – proportion of single-parent families
have risen by 4.2 per cent, driven by medium-sized cities such as Nottingham and Leicester, where house prices are rising by 7.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent, respectively.
House prices still recovering from financial crisis
House prices in a quarter of the UK’s largest cities are struggling to get back to those at the height of the financial crisis, according to figures from the latest Hometrack UK Cities House Price Index. Prices in Belfast, Liverpool and Aberdeen are reportedly still lower than they were in July 2008, less than two months before the apex of the crisis – the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Meanwhile Newcastle and Edinburgh have experi- enced weak single digit growth. At £129,629, prices in Belfast are 28 per cent lower than they were a decade ago, highlighting how hard Northern Ireland’s capital was affected. Aberdeen and Liverpool are also still recovering, with prices down 3 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively, on where they were a decade ago. House prices are just 1 per cent higher
than they were a decade ago in Glasgow (£121,940) and 3 per cent in Newcastle (£128,641), an indication of how slow their recovery has been. By contrast, homeown- ers in Cambridge have seen the value of their properties rocket by 70 per cent, on average, to £432,410. London homeowners have experienced nearly as spectacular a rise, with prices up 65 per cent to an average of £483,792 since July 2008. On a national basis, house prices are 26 per cent above the level they were 10 years ago, highlighting the regional differences within the UK’s housing market. In the past year, UK house prices
Barratt and Berkeley results show success, while firms stress market concerns
In recent trading updates, Barratt Developments has reported “another outstanding year,” and the Berkeley Group has announced a profitable period, while expressing concerns that the south east “lacks urgency.”
South east-based housebuilder the Berkeley Group has reported in its August trading update that the regional market “lacks urgency” in the face of a variety of “headwinds” including cost of develop- ment, and uncertainty fuelled by Brexit. Barratt Developments meanwhile has announced its highest volumes in a decade, with profits up 9.2 per cent to £835.5m. “Our continued focus on operating efficien- cies and margin initiatives is starting to deliver,” commented David Thomas, chief executive. “The Group starts the new financial year in a good position with a strong balance sheet, healthy forward sales, and robust consumer demand supported by a positive mortgage environment.” In a statement to its Annual General
Meeting, the Berkeley Group reported: “London and the south east remains constrained by high transaction costs, restrictive income multiple limits on mortgage borrowing and prevailing economic uncertainty, accentuated by Brexit.” Announcing a profitable four months, the company said: “subject to any large land transactions that might arise before 31 October 2018, Berkeley anticipates that net cash at the half year will be above the year- end position of £687.3m.”
In the first four months of this new finan- cial year, Berkeley reported that market conditions in London and the South East have remained consistent with those reported with the full year results in June, and pricing has remained “robust.”
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