Yet another UK data source that is not currently fit for purpose. The VOA Council Tax stock of properties data is usually a great leading indicator for net additions and useful for local level housing stock detail but changes to their systems means there's a bigger backlog of new homes to be added.

The UK establishment has already permissioned a dangerous shift in political norms - shadow cabinet ministers turning up at protests outside asylum hotels FGS. This is not a time to triangulate. It is a time to oppose, full-throated, the enfranchisement of the radical right. To redraw boundaries.

FFS: Ministers tell Environment Agency to wave planning applications through “One agency source said the staff from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) were “pushing development at any cost”.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

FFS: Ministers tell Environment Agency to wave planning applications through “One agency source said the staff from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) were “pushing development at any cost”.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

As I wrote back in Feb, the government's focus on building homes with no apparent strategy beyond "planning reform" is dangerous and their ongoing failure to hit their stupid 1.5m target makes is more likely they'll be stuck with only the bad options to choose from. builtplace.com/still-search...

MHCLG estimating that "196,500 net additional homes have been delivered in England between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025". The numbers are heading in the wrong direction for the government to get anywhere near their 1.5m target and they'll be lucky to hit 1m at this rate.

The Waitrose effect was invented by a former colleague when a journalist phoned up late on a Friday needing something quick. At the insistence of their boss, the analyst did similar to the initial analysis in this blog and it has taken on a life of its own - much to their annoyance.

Private Eye

Annual % change in Rightmove asking prices turns negative with -0.1% fall in August/September.

An utterly inadequate government led by utterly inadequate people.

Average monthly direct debit for mortgages was over £1,000 for the first time in August (£1,002.27) www.ons.gov.uk/economy/econ...

FFS "The Housing Secretary has identified that there are believed to be up to 1.4million homes that have been granted permission but have not yet been built. He believes these projects are the key to reaching the 1.5million homes target by the end of this parliament."

FFS "The Housing Secretary has identified that there are believed to be up to 1.4million homes that have been granted permission but have not yet been built. He believes these projects are the key to reaching the 1.5million homes target by the end of this parliament."

Here's something a bit different. We've been reporting from Edinburgh to try to get to the bottom of a mystery in London. Princes Street is the Scottish capital's most famous shopping street — and it's gaining the *exact same* tatty gift shops as London. www.londoncentric.media/p/edinburgh-...

My latest for the FT: Why Gen X was London’s luckiest property generation on.ft.com/3HZ0MfS

Labour's new build policies have been focussed on planning reform (important over the longer-term) but the more immediate problem is a crisis in demand. You can plan as many homes as you like but they won't get built if no one can buy them. My latest market commentary builtplace.com/market-comme...

I get it. It's daunting to learn from scratch players, teams, tactics. But with the World Cup on the horizon, there has never been a better time to get your head around Canada being better than South Africa. We present, A Guide to Women's Rugby for fans of the Men's Game- youtu.be/HkOECTLYqkA?...

Hollow Knight: Silksong will be available September 4 on all platforms and day one on Xbox Game Pass! Watch the release trailer: youtu.be/6XGeJwsUP9c

Last few days to apply for possibly the best job in UK housing, as head of strategy and policy at the Greater London Authority glacareers.engageats.co.uk/Vacancies/W/...

What is the point of owning a mansion in Mayfair? London’s luxury property market has bigger problems than the ‘exodus’ of wealthy non-doms My latest article for the FT: on.ft.com/4lTCOBf

Eg size of new build homes in England (it's not 76m²)

Big increase in new property listings on Rightmove in June/July as measured by their index sample size. Similar to the number of new listings when the market reopened in 2020 - though the latest data covers a slightly longer time period than normal so might be a factor (8/6/25-12/7/25)

The Scottish Landlord Register shows the number of landlords has been gradually falling since 2017 but the number of registered properties had been recovering back to slightly below 2017 levels (-3%), and is relatively unchanged over last 9 months. Suggests an ongoing consolidation in the sector.

The mortgage guarantee scheme, if it can reduce the relative cost and increase the availability of higher loan-to-value mortgages, is a useful policy tool. The challenge is getting lenders to actually use it. Last version only accounted for 1.4% of mortgage completions.

"The 43-year-old also co-owned the 52 Degrees North nightclub in Birmingham for ten years, which, he says, was good grounding for the house building sector" www.insidermedia.com/news/midland...

They're paying a handy extra £100m for affordable housing but not admitting they broke competition law on.ft.com/3GdPpzS

Son was bouldering at Stanage over the weekend, so now we’re watching The Real Thing for the first time (& enjoying the mid 1990s vibes!). m.youtube.com/watch?v=brbx...

Took a photo of a similar sign that day. I’d finished uni, so friend and I were travelling to Ireland for the Oxegen festival. We were flying from one of the north London airports (Stansted?). I’d wanted to get tube then train but my friend persuaded me to get the coach instead.

Interesting history for a building in Hull that the new developers are hoping to convert into a 122 bed HMO/co-living (from the planning statement www.hullcc.gov.uk/padcbc/publi...)

Just reminded that early in my career I'd get regular phone calls from the same senior valuation surveyor asking me how to update the previous sale price using a house price index.

Just something I wrote 10 years ago

FYI the Place North West site is useful for the planning history of the Hotspur Press site including the recent issues around brick/aluminium cladding www.placenorthwest.co.uk?s=hotspur+pr...

It’s amazing what tax can do to house prices.

you will have read that Labour is doubling investment in social housing in the long term this is true if 1) you compare it to the Tories and 2) if Labour win the next general election but new allocations for next 3 years are *lower* than this year www.ft.com/content/92a1...

Be wary of new equity loan scheme to boost UK housing market on.ft.com/3FC95gr

Switch 2 just arrived!

Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out www.gov.uk/government/p... “This paper invites views on further action the government could take to encourage a faster build out rate.”

Why we don’t move house anymore My latest for the FT: www.ft.com/content/90b4...

Please, sir, I want some more Help-to-Buy

In an old quarry overlooking the Wye Valley.

Another highlight from FT Money this weekend: @resi-analyst.bsky.social on whether UK house price growth is a thing of the past. For many that will come as a considerable relief 🍾 - unless you were relying on price inflation for your economic wellbeing... on.ft.com/42RjkX7

End of the stamp duty holiday: seasonally adjusted residential transactions in March were around double the normal level.

Still searching for success: my February blog on the Government’s missing housing strategy and lack of clear guidance on what outcomes it might be trying to achieve builtplace.com/still-search...

Still searching for success: my February blog on the Government’s missing housing strategy and lack of clear guidance on what outcomes it might be trying to achieve builtplace.com/still-search...

"what is the problem with productivity, could it be the Welsh language or maybe bats", we say, as we watch 5 million of the 2040s workforce slowly develop long-term educational and health problems

Not looking great for rich white male Americans either.

Latest Building Control based housebuilding data out today. It undercounts actual delivery but is a useful leading indicator for the better quality NAD completions data. Currently suggests 190,600 new build completions in England in 2024.

It's worse than that. The quoted 1.3million net additions is for UK and starts a year late (2025/26). If we make some assumptions for England, then the OBR forecast for this parliament is just under 1.0million net additions.

OBR doesn't think they'll hit the 1.5m target then (like everyone else)