Brexit

Whatever your stance is on Brexit, immigration compounding the housing shortage was an important motivating factor that led many people to opt out of the EU. The subsequent uncertainty has resulted in many EU nationals leaving the UK; has that made the housing crisis any better? Or was decades of chronic under investment from all political parties (sadly still prevalent today) really to blame all along? Housing Association Magazine Editor Joe Bradbury investigates…

Way back in December 2012, Prime Minister Theresa May claimed in an evocative speech that over a third of all new housing demand in Britain was as a direct result of immigration: “There is evidence that without the demand caused by mass immigration, house prices could be 10% lower over a 20-year period,” she commented.

John Whalley, Managing Director of Nationwide Windows & Doors, leading fenestration partner to social housing landlords, looks at how RSLs and property managers can try to mitigate at least some of the uncertainties surrounding Brexit

With Brexit yet again hitting the news, how will the delivery of much needed social housing be affected? Joe Bradbury of Housing Association Magazine investigates.

With them impending withdrawal of the UK from the EU looming large, Brexit is once again making the headlines as we rapidly close in on the 29th March 2019 deadline.

This time the crux of the Brexit debate is centred on the potential implications of the UK leaving the EU without any kind of deal in place by this date.

Construction SMEs enjoyed rising workloads in the second quarter of 2018, despite continuing concerns over skills shortages and increasing costs, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Key results from the FMB’s latest State of Trade Survey, which is the only quarterly assessment of the UK-wide SME construction sector, include:

• Construction SME workloads remained positive in Q2 2018 and grew at a faster rate than they did in the first quarter of 2018;
• The construction SME sector has now enjoyed more than five years of consecutive quarterly growth;
• More than three-quarters (76%) of builders reported increasing material prices in Q2 2018;
• Two-thirds (65%) of construction SMEs are struggling to hire bricklayers and 60% are struggling to hire carpenters and joiners;
• More than half (54%) of construction SMEs expect salaries and wages to increase over the next six months.