4 INDUSTRY NEWS
FROM THE EDITOR
James Parker
Zoopla recently put out a report that (surprise surprise), said that the 1.5 million new homes by 2029 target wasn’t achievable. However what is somewhat shocking is the extent to which there may be a shortfall, according to the leading house-selling portal. There has to be some veracity to its fi gures, as it’d be unlikely to want to talk down the market unless there’s a pressing need – it said that it was not fi nancially viable for builders to build new homes across 48% of England.”
ON THE COVER
HOUSEBUILDER & DEVELOPER
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
This was put down to the fact that the overall cost of delivering a new home has grown by 17% since 2022, whereas sales prices have only gone up by 1% in the same period. As well as the necessary numbers required to hit the 1.5 million target only being achievable across half of the country, Zoopla said it was “much harder to build homes in affordable areas.”
New Housing Secretary Steve Reed may have sported a ‘Build Baby Build’ hat at the recent Labour party conference, but Zoopla said it was showing the realities of achieving these gung-ho aims. Materials and skills costs and raised interest rates are just the start of the problems.
The company reported that while 64% of southern England was seeing average sales prices at levels that “can support the cost of delivering new homes,” this fell to just 13% in the Midlands, and 10 per cent in the north of England.”
Update your registration here: A RARE BREED
Manningtree Park in Essex by City & Country is a 485-home scheme offering residents an unusual level of practicality combined with natural amenity, including a fl ock of rare breed sheep!
© Manningtree Park Go to page 22
Retrofi t, therefore, must be a major focus, but again the likely return on investment is questionable currently in terms of making it core business for mainly developers. We need to see a genuine National Retrofi t Strategy coming out of overnment, and soon in order for companies to realise that the business case for selling to homeowners is backed by a real cohesion of support.
If you want to engage consumers, I’d say jettison ‘retrofi t’ as a term. It means nothing to most consumers, and only suggests something ‘retrogressive,’ a throwback to the past. Surely we have to look at reusing the terms ‘renovation’ or ‘home improvement,’ if nothing better transpires? Job number two is to ensure that all of the recommendations made by the Energy Security Committee are included in the Warm Homes Plan – (over)due this month.
Looking to update or cancel your registration? Scan the QR code to visit our registration page. From here you can also register for our Digital Issues and Newsletters. Alternatively, please visit
hbdonline.co.uk/subscribe
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
In one of the big reveals at its September party conference, the Government unveiled plans for 12 new towns, but despite his new-boy enthusiasm, Steve Reed was only able to announce three actual sites. The new settlements at Tempsford, in Bedfordshire, Crews ill near Enfi eld, and South Bank in Leeds, ier will be a huge step towards what otherwise increasingly seems an impossible target of 1.5 million homes.
James Parker
In addition the market analysis from Zoopla “highlights a disconnect between viability to build and affordability for home buyers.” This raises a fundamental paradox that probably only overnment intervention can fi x, namely that where the returns make it viable to build, customers can’t afford to buy, and where they can, it’s not viable for developers.
Managing Editor James Parker
Publisher Anthony Parker
Account Director Midge Myatt
Account Manager Steve Smith
Digital Marketing & PR Account Manager Suzanne Easter
Operations Director Shelley Collyer
Editorial Contributor Roseanne Field
Event Coordinator Amy Madigan
Studio Manager Mikey Pooley
Production Assistant Georgia Musson
Digital Production Coordinator Kimberley Musson
Feature Coordinator & Publisher’s Assistant Kim Neville
Finance Director Simon Reed
An Employee Owned Company
Cointronic House, Station Road, Heathfi eld, East Sussex TN21 8DF
Advertising & Administration 01435 863500
info@netmagmedia.co.uk
Press Releases
editorial@netmagmedia.co.uk
Registration & Circulation Enquiries
info@netmagmedia.co.uk
In association with:
T e manufacturer of the paper used within our publication is a Chain-of-Custody certifi ed supplier operating within environmental systems certifi ed to both ISO 14001 and EMAS in order to ensure sustainable production.
Subscription costs just £24 for 6 issues, including post and packing. Phone 01435 863500 for details. Individual copies of the publication are available at £5 each inc p & p.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or stored in any information retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. Although every eff ort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in Housebuilder & Developer, the publisher can accept no responsibility for the claims or opinions made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. Editorial contributors to this journal may have made a payment towards the reproduction costs of material used to illustrate their products.
Printed in England.
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 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
