🏡📊 Top Stories of the Week: Halifax updates intermediary site to make apps easier and NatWest becomes latest lender to cuts rates.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news/mortgage-strategys-top-10-stories-12-oct-to-16-oct/

#MortgageStrategy #FinanceNews #UKHousing

Now included in www.thinkhouse.org.uk :: @cihhousing.bsky.social REPORT :: 2026 UK Housing Review Autumn Briefing Paper :: Awaiting Editorial Panel assessment. #ukhousing #housingresearch #housingpolicy

Social landlords complete transfer of over 2,000 homes

hqnetwork.co.uk/news/social-... #ukhousing

Latest #openaddresses from local government:

Elmbridge Borough Council, in the South East of England, has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad... (no download yet)

The ICO helped me with this one ;-)

#FOI #UKhousing #proptech #localgov #opendata

We're delighted to welcome Swindon Borough Council to the Housing Quality Network. Thank you for joining – we're looking forward to working with you! #ukhousing

... the impacts of higher mortgage rates, oil & energy prices (again), since September, have not fed through to house building demand & costs yet & will mainly hit volumes of house building activity in 2027 H1. (22/end)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

... in terms of negative risks, we have had 6 unexpected major disruptions since 2020 & that may now be the 'new normal' but forecasts clearly can't take account of these unexpected, unpredicatable events. More specifically on housing,... (21/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

In terms of risks, if 'Your First Home' causes a sharp increase in effective demand & the SAHP finance comes through early for partnerships, housing associations & councils then house building in 2027 may be better than expected. But,... (20/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

Overall, we expect total house building output to fall 9.1% in 2026 (unsurprisingly given output year-to-date is already 7.8% lower than a year ago) & then remain broadly flat (+0.4%) in 2027, although clearly there are big risks to the forecast for next year. (19/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

And, simultaneously, housing associations & councils remain primarily focused on issues with their existing stock (basic living conditions & fire safety remediation). Their focus isn’t on taking on Section 106 homes from private developers or new build themselves. (18/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

..., which started in April, £10 billion has been allocated but we are still only expecting significant activity from it down on the ground in 2027 H1 at the earliest as government programmes persistently take a very long time to get going. (17/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

In public housing, the old Affordable Homes Programme finished in March but activity from it still continues, at a rapidly slowing rate, whilst under the new the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP)... (16/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

... the volume of public house building activity in August 2026 was 1.9% lower than in July, 8.7% lower than a year earlier & year-to-date (January-August), activity in 2026 was 5.9% lower than in 2025. (15/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

In public house building activity, just be careful using the time series as the ONS has a structural break data problem in the data from January 2022 (where the level of activity essentially doubles). However,... (14/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

5) SME house builders are disproportionately affected & affected earlier, by affordability issues, all the cost rises, site viability issues & local planning problems & many SME house builders have been affected more than the major house builders. (13/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

4) In London, affordability is a key problem but site viability, late stage viability reviews, Building Safety Regulator delays at Gateway 2 & 3 Stage, concerns about leasehold & service charges (as most London house building is flats) are all issues for developers. (12/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

3) Build to Rent investment remains high & previously drove new build but is increasingly now mopping up excess house builder stock rather than driving new build, especially given the rise in both the construction & financing costs. (11/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

According to the HBF, the cost of building a low-rise house has risen £76,000 in the last 5 years & it has risen £98,000 for a new home in a high-rise development, the difference being due to the government's 2nd staircase requirement. (10/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction
www.hbf.co.uk/documents/15...

... the main reason site viability is still the key problem in cheaper areas, is due to all of government's extra costs on house building, the most recent of which was in October & there are extra government costs on house building coming in March 2027. (9/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

2) Site viability is still the key problem in cheaper areas, partly due to construction product price rises after spikes in energy & commodities in 2022 & in oil & energy costs in 2026 (Spring & September's spikes are still feeding through & will be into 2027) but... (8/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction