As we go to press on this magazine, the current Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced he’s off for a final jolly to the US before officially resigning, with Andy Burnham waiting in the wings as PM elect following the Labour party unanimously voting for him to take the reins.
So, what does this mean for the property market in the UK you may ask, well for starters Burnham has talked about binning stamp duty, making changes to council tax and revaluing properties, replacing both with an annual ‘property tax’. On top of this, which is more pertinent to this issues’ main topic, he’s proposing the biggest council house building programme since the Second World War, how and where he will do this is unknown, as with most of his ‘ideas’, so we will wait and see. Oh, and of course he wants to make changes to various other taxes including CGT and Inheritance Tax. All these changes could, as per the Liz Truss debacle, cause uncertainty in the markets pushing up interest rates yet again.
Now on to the contents of this magazine, our lead article on page 12, as mentioned above, is on housebuilding, we take an in depth look into what’s been happening with the industry and the Governments 1.5m homes target, which seems to have failed miserably to date due to a serious slowdown in housing completions, with various factors from a skills shortage to external factors like the on/off Iran War. Adam Lawrence has also offered his own thoughts on this subject on page 20.
On page 16, Lucia Piccinini has looked at how developers should be focusing more on sustainable development of homes and why modular construction can aid them in creating a more streamlined build process and prevent delays to completion.
Planning expert David Kemp looks at Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), on page 22, and how it has become increasingly popular. He has also included a recent case study of a development.
Ritchie Clapson has looked at how AI can help property developers on page 26, as it can analyse development opportunities and interpret planning policy to producing cash flow forecasts and marketing material, the caveat as always with AI is you should check the results.
It’s time for our PIN Fund again, and on page 32 you will find the latest analysis of what’s been happening with the various stocks and shares that we have been tracking.
As always there are plenty more articles to read, with two focussing on landlord compliance from Maxine and Des, on pages 40 and 42 respectively, whilst Suzi Carter on page 30 advises that you must understand businesses to invest in commercial property.
I hope you have a wonderful summer.
