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Positive Outcomes

1 Dec
11:59

Making a profit from affordable housing

Submitted by Rebecca Bennett Casserly, EC Harris, Head of Affordable Housing

 Making a profit from affordable housing Opening the affordable housing market up to for-profits could increase supply but it must be strongly regulated to protect taxpayer investment. Quietly, back in April 2009, something with potentially far-reaching consequences for the affordable housing sector happened: section 115 of the Housing and Regeneration Act came into effect. This comparatively short and uncomplicated clause opened the door to profit distributing organisations to register... Read More

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Making a profit from affordable housing
18 Feb
12:20

The new Affordable Homes Programme and how to gain competitive advantage

Submitted by Rebecca Bennett Casserly, EC Harris, Head of Affordable Housing

DCLG and the HCA have launched the long awaited 2011-15 Affordable Homes Programme.  It sets out the framework for providers of affordable housing to bid for a share of the unallocated remains of £4.5 billion - some £2.2 billion - over the next 4 years.   The Spending Review saw the advent of a "new world" for the sector. This programme along with benefit reform, HRA reform and the Localism Bill, provides a significantly different operating environment to the... Read More

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The new Affordable Homes Programme and how to gain competitive advantage
1 Mar
16:45

The New Homes Bonus

Submitted by Rebecca Bennett Casserly, EC Harris, Head of Affordable Housing

The principle of the New Homes Bonus (NHB) is sound; reward local authorities and their citizens for embracing housing growth.   The flexibility in its resultant financial capacity at times of unprecedented cuts in local government expenditure is welcomed. I like the fact that the bonus can be spent in accordance with a community's needs and not ring fenced for potentially lesser and more indirect benefit. However, the bonus will be paid on completion and occupation of new supply... Read More

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The New Homes Bonus
15 Apr
17:03

Tenants to carry out their own repairs?

Submitted by Andy Roskell, EC Harris, Partner, Affordable Housing

Grant Shapps’ scheme to allow tenants to carry out repairs or choose a local contractor (as featured in the latest edition of Inside Housing) has the potential to be a terrific idea which could clearly work well in some areas.  However, there are some important principles to be observed and some potential pitfalls to be avoided. Firstly the scheme must be managed carefully by whoever adopts this. Landlords will need to be careful to ensure that any local purchasing by customers... Read More

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Tenants to carry out their own repairs?
4 May
09:10

The Affordable Homes Programme โ€“ HCA Criteria

Submitted by Rebecca Bennett Casserly, EC Harris, Head of Affordable Housing

At last all the template filling in, deep contemplation, head scratching and tactical planning is over, the Affordable Homes Programme bids are now in – but what has been achieved? One thing is for sure, the majority of bid strategies will have changed several times in advance of the 3 May deadline. I feel that the HCA will be looking for significant and deliverable volume (delivering the numbers quoted in the Budget will be a political imperative) and “workable” grant... Read More

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The Affordable Homes Programme โ€“ HCA Criteria
14 Jul
14:18

Affordable Homes Programme puts council housing back on the map

Submitted by Rebecca Bennett Casserly, EC Harris, Head of Affordable Housing

The affordable housing sector has proved once again that they can well and truly rise to the challenge. The Affordable Homes Programme 2011-2015 (AHP) is set to “over” deliver no less than 20,000 new homes against the government’s original target of 150,000; this is certainly not a great day for cynics of the minister’s plans revealed in October 2010’s Spending Review; seeking aggressive commercialisation of the sector to sustain some level of new housing supply... Read More

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Affordable Homes Programme puts council housing back on the map
21 Nov
14:50

The Housing Strategy - Solid Foundations?

Submitted by Simon Rawlinson, EC Harris, Head of Strategic Research

This is a long term strategy but most of the headline-grabbing proposals feel a bit short term.  Encouragingly, many of the proposals, freeing up public sector land, New Homes bonus, renegotiated s106 agreements and the land auction process can be traced back to the 2004 Barker Review, which focused on the need to increase the supply of housing in order to maintain long term affordability. Given the current state of the housing market, the proposal that will get the greatest coverage... Read More

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The Housing Strategy - Solid Foundations?
22 Mar
01:16

Views on 2012 February Property price in China

Submitted by Mark Budden, EC Harris, Area Leader, North Asia

Here are some of my thoughts on last month Property Price report in China. On property prices As China’s Premier Wen Jiabao recently reiterated, the central government is determined to continue its efforts to curb real estate speculation. These policies are expected to be maintained for the foreseeable future. As a result, I believe that China’s property prices will likely continue their downward trend, likely going into the... Read More

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Views on 2012 February Property price in China
20 Apr
08:34

And prices continue to drop!

Submitted by Simon Baxter, EC Harris, Partner, Hong Kong

I was invited to be interviewed by Bernie Lo on CNBC Asia yesterday morning to talk about the property prices' drop in China. Below are few points I thought I could share with you regarding this, this is good follow up on last month blog written by our China Location Leader. Why are property prices across China dropping? Prices are decreasing due to a suite of measures that... Read More

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And prices continue to drop!