Industry News
Young people gloomy about home owning prospects
Architects feel optimistic about future workloads with Northern practices looking to recruit more staff – RIBA Future Trends Survey May 2018
Seven in 10 ( 70 %) of us say that the difficulties young people have getting onto the housing ladder is one of the biggest problems we have in Britain today .
However at the same time the desire for home ownership remains strong . Almost half ( 48 %) of people aged between 25 and 34 today who aren ’ t on the property ladder say they want to own their own home within the next 10 years .
However , many in this age-group are highly pessimistic about their prospects of achieving home ownership even if they wait a decade : 41 % think that the achievement of their dream is unlikely .
The past , current and future accommodation that young people between 25 and 34 live in clearly shows :
A significant drop in those who own their own home – down from 40 % in 2008 to 33 % today .
But a significant number ( 62 %) want to own their own home by 2028 .
By 2028 far fewer want to be living in private rented accommodation – down from 31 % today to 9 %.
Today 14 % of the so-called boomerang generation live in a property owned by a friend or relative .
This is not somewhere that many of today ’ s 18-24 year-olds see themselves living in 10 years – just 3 %.
The RIBA Future Trends Workload Index continued its positive trend this month , rising to + 24 in May 2018 , up from + 13 in April .
In terms of geographical analysis , practices in London continue to be the most pessimistic about medium term workloads , but with a balance figure of + 16 London practices have at least returned to positive territory and on balance believe that workloads will increase in the medium term .
The balance figure in the Midlands and East Anglia was + 18 , in the North of England + 46 , in the South of England + 24 and in Wales and the West + 28 . Practices in Scotland were somewhat more cautious , returning a balance figure of + 17 . It is the northern powerhouse region that remains most upbeat .
In terms of practice size , large practices ( 51 + staff ) returned a workload balance figure of + 80 , for medium-sized practices ( 11 - 50 staff ) the balance figure was + 25 , and for small practices ( 1 - 10 staff ) the balance figure was + 23 .
The private housing sector workload forecast rose to + 22 , the commercial sector rose to + 11 and the public sector rose up to + 3 : all moved in a positive direction this month . Only the community sector workload forecast saw a negative movement , falling to + 3 in May 2018 down from + 7 in April .
There was also a sizeable jump in the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index this month , up significantly to + 12 in May 2018 compared with + 1 in April . The staffing forecast for large practices ( 51 + staff ) was + 80 in May , for mediumsized practices ( 11 - 50 staff ) it was + 18 and small practices ( 1 - 10 staff ) it was + 9 .
Mirroring the Workload Index , practices in the North of England ( balance figure + 23 ) were the most optimistic about being able to take on more staff over the next quarter , whereas London practices ( balance figure + 3 ) do not anticipate a significant recruitment drive .
RIBA Executive Director Members , Adrian Dobson , said :
“ Commentary received from our participating practices continues to suggest a reasonably steady work flow and the overall mood music remains cautiously optimistic , but many practices report fee levels are still under pressure because of the highly competitive market for our services .
A small number of correspondents report difficulties in recruiting staff , but this does not appear to be a widespread problem at present , suggesting a fairly balanced employment market for salaried architects ”.
HBA : Rural communities need bespoke housing policy
The Institute for Public Policy Research ( IPPR ) has published a policy report , “ A new rural settlement , fixing the affordable housing crisis in rural England ”, shedding light on some of the unique challenges rural communities face .
The report identifies four solutions :
• The Government must commit to more devolution , including bespoke deals on housing and planning
• The need for a new approach to capital funding for affordable housing
• The need to bring forward land for affordable housing
• The need for new housing policies designed to support the unique features of rural communities and housing
The IPPR highlighted that housing costs are approximately 25 % higher in rural communities , while average wages are lower .
Homes in rural communities are around £ 19,000 more expensive than the average for England and , when compared to the urban communities ( except for London ), that figure exceeds £ 87,000 .
Moreover , the IPPR identified that homes in rural communities are predominantly built on small sites , with rural exception sites being the key policy tool to enable these properties .
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