House prices up 2%. Labour announces plan to build more homes. GDP forecast to grow - driven by the construction industry.

House prices rise by 2% according to Zoopla

The UK housing market is continuing on its upward trend.

With the market adjusting to mortgages at around 4% buyer demand is increasing resulting in price increases of around 2% this year.

Last year prices increased by only 0.1% and sales agreed are up on last year by 16%.

While prices are up to secure a deal – houses are selling for 96.8% of the asking price.

Labour announced their plan to build more homes.

Labour announced the new National Planning Policy Framework, this will see the return of mandatory housing targets and the introduction of golden rules with more details following shortly.

Rayner has said that the planning system should be a ‘launchpad’ rather than a ‘millstone’.

The policy detailed on the Government website includes intentions to:

• Bring back mandatory housing targets to make sure local authorities develop appropriately for their area and with property that's affordable for the area. This will require them to look at other types of land for development.
• Make it easier to build digital infrastructure, laboratories and gigafactories to meet the needs of a modern economy.
• Fine details will come in the upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill

The new deputy Prime Minister has said that Labour knew there was a housing crisis when they came into office but are finding a scandalous legacy from the previous government.

Neil Jefferson, chief executive at the Home Builders Federation said: “The scale of the government’s housing ambition has given hope to the home building industry that stands ready to increase supply and tackle the country’s housing shortage.”

Housebuilder Pro app - your key to Part L success

Included in Housebuilder Pro membership is our Part L mobile app.

The app enables your site management team to make Part L records with ease, check plot details and have all of this link back to your admin team through the Housebuilder Pro system!

We'll be adding more features shortly, but to find out more visit the Housebuilder Pro website below.

Find out more here

GDP forecast to grow throughout 2024

The House of Commons Library has published its first economic update of this parliament, the first since the new government arrived.

Predictions for economic growth have increased from 0.4% to 0.9% by the end of the year with inflation falling to 2% and growth in numerous powerful sectors.

This conclusion has been made by the increase in numerous economic indicators - including the purchasing managers index which saw gains due to growth in the construction and housing sector. This is on top of cooling inflation figures.

We can expect the economy's current trajectory to remain consistent until the next budget which will be on the 30th of October.

Finding our newsletter useful? Feel free to share it with your colleagues.

If you'd like to see your housebuilding news featured contact us by emailing [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Housebuilder Pro, contact us here.

Or get in touch with Nick Taylor, our Sales Director.