A recent announcement by Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, reported action is to be taken to support the demand for new homes to be built.  Under the New Homes Bonus scheme the government will match the council tax raised on each new house built for six years. Craig Hallam, New Homes Director for Badger Holdings, parent company to Townends and Regents estate agents, believes the move must be seen as positive, and whilst it will not address the problem of a lack of houses being built in itself, it will no doubt form part of the raft of measures required to restart the house-building industry needed from the coalition government.  

Craig comments: “The new build market is vibrant at present with demand outstripping supply, but worryingly the levels of new house building are at their lowest since 1924, and that is at the root of continued affordability issues across the whole market which will not go away until more homes are built. The office for national statistics shows a continued increase in the UK population over the next 23 years, meaning that more homes must be built or we will continue to see an overheated market, and chronic housing shortages of the kind that currently see around 4.5 million people on council waiting lists.”

Recent reports have suggested there has been a rise in the number of planned building developments in the UK despite actual building figures still falling well short of the government’s annual target. The new scheme would see the scrapping of national housebuilding targets in favour of a new ‘localism’ approach but Craig Hallam believes the scheme will rely on greater cooperation between house builders, residents and local and central government for it to be successful.  

Craig continues: “I believe The New Homes Bonus in itself is a positive move to encourage local authorities to be more proactive in their support of new build schemes in their respective areas, and starts a process of changing the ‘top down’ approach to planning which the coalition has made clear they want to change. There does however, need to be swift clarity on how all the new changes surrounding planning will actually work, as continued uncertainty is going to exasperate already frustrated house builders who need and want to build more homes.”