A study by the Economic and Social Research Council has said making existing homes energy efficient was a ‘herculean’ task and required radical action to bring about a 60 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. The research calculated that to reduce emissions from existing homes by 40Read More →
Mortgage lenders have warned however, that the plan to offer struggling homeowners a holiday for up to two years from paying their interest repayments is unworkable and will result in new applications being turned down. In response to a consultation by Communities and Local Government over the plan, theRead More →
More tenants across the country will have a greater say over where they want to live and what housing options are available to them after John Healey announced over half a million pounds of extra funding to create more choice based lettings schemes across the country and expand severalRead More →
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a warning over the consequences of a prolonged global slump – unless governments act with greater urgency to jump start ailing economies, violent social unrest may occur around the world. Weak and uncertain government action to the crisis was causingRead More →
John Hills is presenting his report on the future of social housing at noon. More later. Among the previews in this morning’s papers, The Times reports that thousands of new tenants will be offered six-month tenancies. You can hear the Today programme item on Hills here. TheRead More →
House prices around the world fell for the first time in record during the last three months, falling an average of 0.3 per cent compared with the previous quarter. Britain was one of the worst performing of the 44 countries listed, recording falls of 4.6 per cent during theRead More →
TODAY’s PAPERS have some interesting takes on the report from the Conservatives’ Tax Reform Commission. According to The Telegraph the plan to scrap inheritance tax on primary residences would ‘pour petrol on the flames of the British love affair with bricks and mortar’. It says the plan would createRead More →
Meanwhile new figures for housing association applications to start building new homes is five per cent lower than for the same period last year, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC). New home starts in total in October fell to the lowest level since the early 1980s, andRead More →
The Halifax house price index for March has shown the biggest monthly drop since September 1992. Prices are now only 1.1 per cent higher than a year ago. Analysts say that the weaker-than-expected figures from Halifax would raise expectations that the Bank of England would cut base interest ratesRead More →
The meltdown in the American housing market is not over yet, with experts warning that a rise in home foreclosures next year and in 2011 could undermine the chances of a sustained economic recovery in the United States. The Obama administration has set aside $75 billion (£46Read More →