Industry News
Removing Brexit
uncertainty
won’t resolve
housing market
issues
Released today, the BSA’s quarterly Property
Tracker survey reveals that house prices are of
greater importance than Brexit when it comes
to housing market sentiment. Respondents who
disagreed that ‘now is a good time to buy’ were
asked what would change their mind: over a
third (34%) said a correction in house prices.
Comparatively, 27% said ‘the UK reaching an
agreement with the EU’ would make them more
positive, and just 11% said a ‘no deal’ scenario
would make them more positive.
The UK’s best new homes
- houses in the running for
RIBA House of the Year 2019
The Royal Institute of British
Architects (RIBA) has today (27
June 2019) announced the longlist
for the 2019 RIBA House of the Year.
Among the 20 projects in the
running to win the UK’s most
prestigious award for a new house
or extension are a:
•
•
Cork-built home in the grounds
of a listed mill in Berkshire
(Cork House)
Highly-sustainable self-build
Passivhaus in East Sussex (Hill
House Passivhaus)
• Hampshire House by Niall
McLaughlin Architects
• Hannington Farm
(Northamptonshire) by James
Gorst Architects
• Hill House Passivhaus (East
Sussex) by Meloy Architects
• House in a Garden (London) by
Gianni Botsford Architects
• House Lessans (Saintfield,
Northern Ireland) by
McGonigle McGrath
• Kenwood Lee House (London)
by Cousins & Cousins
• Lark Rise (Buckinghamshire) by
bere:architects
• Max Fordham House (London)
by bere:architects
• Nithurst Farm (West Sussex) by
Adam Richards Architects
• Pocket House (London) by
Tikari Works
• A Restorative Retreat (Sartfell,
Isle of Man) by Foster Lomas
• Secular Retreat (Devon) by
Peter Zumthor & Mole
Sentiment towards the housing market has
been negative for over two-years, but improved
in June. When asked ‘is now a good time to buy
a property in the UK’, those who disagree has
outnumbered those who agree in every quarter
since June 2017. Today’s results show that 23%
agreed that now is a good time to buy, 28%
disagreed. This is slightly less negative than in
March when a third (33%) disagreed • New home occupying the
footprint of two garages in
Kensington, London (Earl’s
Court house) • Converted Arts and Crafts
stable block in Llanhennock
(Silver How) Almost a third (31%) of people expect house
prices to increase in the next year. Less than a
quarter (24%) think prices will fall. This could
be due to fewer properties coming onto the
market following the EU referendum, adding
support to prices. • Black House (Armadale, Isle of
Skye) by Dualchas • Cork House (Berkshire) by
Matthew Barnett Howland with
Dido Milne & Oliver Wilton Higher property prices will make saving for
a deposit even more difficult for aspiring
first-time buyers. ‘Raising a deposit’ has been
the single biggest barrier to home ownership
for nearly a decade. In today’s results 64% of
people said raising a deposit was the biggest
barrier. • Earl’s Court house (London) by
Sophie Hicks Architects • • The Ghost House (Stratford-
upon-Avon) by BPN Silver How (Llanhennock,
Wales) by Hall + Bednarczyk
• • The Green House (Tiverton) by
David Sheppard Architects South London House (London)
by Jonathan Pile
• Stackyard (Derbyshire) by
James Boon Architects
The 20 longlisted homes are:
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) appreciates the
Government’s commitment to put forward plans to crack down
on late payment, but these proposals do little to improve the
situation of construction companies on the ground.
Kelly Tolhurst MP, small business
minister, delivered a statement
to the House of Commons
announcing measures to ensure
that businesses get paid on time
Measures to strengthen the role of the small business
commissioner by giving him power to fine late payers and
handing him greater responsibility over the Prompt Payment Code
are certainly welcome, but they remain mere proposals which do
absolutely nothing to help companies suffering from late payment
now.
4