General Articles

During the Second World War, over 5.8million hectares of the UK’s land mass was committed to military use. Today, military land accounts for a smaller area than in 1850, and as strategic interests change, the Ministry of Defense continues to... View Article

Speaking at a joint NFB and FMB fringe event at the Labour Party conference, Shadow Housing Minister Jack Dromey MP said a Labour government would build houses “on a grand scale” and get more SMEs involved in tackling the housing... View Article

Andy Frankish, new homes director at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), comments: “A Labour pledge to redouble house-building efforts would be welcome news, but there are key questions to answer about affordability and workability. Help to Buy equity loans have made... View Article

The cycle of the roller coaster ride for the construction industry continues as the Financial Times reports that bricklayers’ pay has jumped 20% in the last six months as the increase in house building has created labour and material shortages... View Article

The context for social housing continues to change, meaning that providers need the skills and capacity to manage these risks effectively to ensure viability. This is the key message from the HCA’s second Sector Risk Profile, published 19th September. While... View Article

Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), comments: “The news that house prices have continued to grow is another positive indicator that the industry is steadily recovering, with government initiatives stimulating the property market and tempting would-be... View Article

Michael Dall, lead economist at construction intelligence specialist, Barbour ABI, comments on ONS construction new orders/output figures: “Recent reports have indicated a small but steady increase in private housing construction and today’s figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS)... View Article

Hard-pressed Brits are being forced to rent for an average of four years before they can afford to buy their first home, new research from Britain’s biggest house builder shows today. In the most extreme cases, people have been renting... View Article

Does understanding how we perform relative to other households help us change our behaviours? This is the topic of a major research study being undertaken by 13 housing associations throughout the United Kingdom. The National Energy Study is investigating energy... View Article

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that construction output in July 2013 increased by 2.2 per cent compared with the previous month. Whether comparing figures month on month or year on year – when there was a 0.8... View Article

Recent data from the Office for National Statistics highlight a dramatic increase in construction new orders during the second quarter of 2013. Overall, new orders in the four quarters to Q2 were 12.0% higher than a year earlier, worth £5billion,... View Article

House prices in the UK are set to rise by a cumulative 33% between 2007 and the end of 2017, according to the latest research by BNP Paribas Real Estate. Prices are forecast to grow by 2.5% this year; a... View Article