The number of tenants in the UK severely behind on rental payments has fallen by 35,000 or 35% in last 12 months, new research shows.

The improvement means that 98.5% of private sector tenants now avoid significant rental arrears, according to the latest Tenant Arrears Tracker report from LSL Property Services.

Overall some 67,000 households remain more than two months behind on rent but this is compared to 102,000 in the second quarter of 2013.

Most recently the number of tenants in severe arrears has dropped by 0.2%, between the first three months of 2014 and the second quarter of the year.

As a proportion of all tenants, those in serious arrears of more than two months has also improved, standing at 1.5% in the second quarter compared to 2.2% in the second quarter of 2013.

Improvements in serious rental arrears tally with the latest figures on overall rent arrears, of any duration. According to LSL’s latest Buy to Let Index, overall tenant arrears now stand at just 7%, as of May 2014, down from 8.2% in May 2013.

‘Private renting has absorbed enormous pressure and will continue to do so. For over half a decade, our national aspiration to own our own homes has struggled in the face of the longest economic crisis on record. And in the midst of this, private renting has provided a solution,’ said Paul Jardine, director and receiver at Templeton LPA.

‘Certainly, some households succumbed to the wave of unemployment that followed the 2008 crisis, and as the broader monthly squeeze tightened its grip. For a time, though still for only a small minority of tenants, there was a significant rise in serious rental arrears. But now as the jobs market gradually comes back to life, the effect on the most hard pressed of households is clear to be seen,’ he explained.

‘While wages are yet to pick up significantly, those in the most serious financial problems often face a lack of any earnings at all. So as the risk of unemployment retreats this year, those with serious problems paying their rent, and most at risk from losing their homes, are benefiting the most,’ he added.

However, the report also shows that despite fewer tenants falling into the most severe arrears, the number actually facing eviction, while significantly lower in absolute terms, has continued to rise. As of the first quarter of 2014, some 33,000 tenants are facing potential eviction via court order, up 5.9% from the fourth quarter of 2013. On an annual basis this leaves evictions levels 10% higher than in the first three months of 2013.

Meanwhile, landlords have continued to benefit from both the improving financial position of tenants, and a beneficial mortgage market. Landlords’ own mortgage arrears have fallen for the sixth successive quarter, with just 14,700 buy to let mortgages in arrears in more than three months in the first quarter of 2014, down 10.9% from the previous quarter. On annual basis this means…

Residential property sales in Canada increased by 0.8% in June compared to the previous month, the five monthly rise in a row, taking transactions to their highest level since March 2010.

The data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) also shows that national average price for homes sold in June was $413,215, up 6.9% from the same month last year.

Sales rose in about half of all local housing markets in June, led by gains in Greater Vancouver where activity hit its highest level in more than three years, and Montreal where activity is now 10% above post-recession lows reached earlier this year.

Actual, not seasonally adjusted, activity in June stood 11.2% above levels reported in the same month last year. June sales were up from year ago levels in three out of every four local markets, led by Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary, Greater Toronto and Hamilton-Burlington.

While prices are up almost 7% on a year ago, the report points out that the national average price continues to be skewed upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s largest and most expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $336,164 while the year on year increase shrinks to 5.2%.

Year on year price growth varied among local housing markets tracked by the index, with the biggest gains having been posted by Calgary with a rise of 10.74%, Greater Toronto up 7.77% and Greater Vancouver up 4.37%.

Two storey single family homes continued to post the biggest year on year price gains with an increase of 6.19%, followed closely by one storey single family homes up 5.35% and townhouses up 5.07%. Price growth for apartment units remained comparatively more modest 3.85%.

The number of newly listed homes changed little in June, having eased by 0.1% compared to May. In May, new listings reached their highest level since April 2010. On an actual, not seasonally adjusted, basis, new listings set a record for the month of June.

‘At least some of the recent burst in new supply reflects the slow start to the year, when a harsh winter caused many sellers to delay listing their home in many parts of the country,’ said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist.

‘In markets with tight supply and strong demand, the strength of sales in recent months reflects how many properties were snapped up once they finally hit the market. Because the impact of deferred listings and sales has likely run its course, activity over the second half of the year may not be able to maintain the kind of pace we’ve seen over the past couple of months,’ he added.

The national sales to new listings ratio was 53.6% in June, up slightly from 53.2% in May but still well entrenched within the range between 40 and 60% that marks balanced market territory. Just over half of all local markets posted a sales to new listings ratio…

Skills shortages and increasing delivery times for certain materials have become substantial constraints on construction activity, surveyors are warning.

The latest construction market survey form the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that 51% of surveyors say skills shortages are curtailing activity and 58% cited materials shortages as an impediment to growth. A year ago these figures were just 7% and 5% respectively.

Some 54% of firms have had difficulties recruiting quantity surveyors and 59% have struggled to find bricklayers. This compares to 19% and 7% who were noticing shortages in these roles last year.

Surveyors have also noticed changes in the behaviour of contractors. Marc Menear from the Bristol office of Faithful+Gould said: “Contractors appear to be coming more selective over which projects they tender for.”

Jonathan Park of Harrogate-based Appleyard & Trew commented: “Contractors are at capacity on enquiries and struggling to submit tenders with periods set.”

Anthony Millward of Allan Reynolds Partnership in Wolverhampton said: “Shortage of bricks and bricklayers are a problem. As contractors are getting busier we are finding their management resources can't cope. This is impacting on preplanning and seriously affecting progress on site.”

The Q2 2014 RICS construction market survey shows a continuing improvement in activity across all areas of the UK, with the private sector leading the way. The headline national workloads net balance, which captures the change relative to the previous quarter, softened only marginally from Q1’s record high of 43 to stand at 41 for Q2.

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The private housing, commercial and industrial sectors are driving this growth in workloads with the individual balances for each of these sectors also moderating only slightly from the series high values recorded in Q1.

The private housing sector has been the main driver of the recent growth in the official construction output data and the continued strength of the RICS private housing workloads series, which recorded a value of 41 in Q2, shows that momentum in this sector remains strong.

The net balance of private commercial workloads came in at 51 in Q2, from Q1’s series high value of 55, and as with the private housing sector, workloads grew robustly across all areas of the UK that we monitor. In the industrial sector, the workloads net balance recorded a value of 38 in Q2, down slightly from Q1’s reading of 40.

Workloads grew strongly across all broad regional blocks with the Midlands region in particular seeing workloads rise at a record pace. Scotland and Northern Ireland have generally experienced more moderate growth in activity than the other areas of the UK over the last year but workloads have, nonetheless, been consistently rising, RICS said.

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Almost half of all tenants in the prime London property market are renting due to employment relocation as the city attracts companies from around the globe, according to a new analysis.

This demonstrates the increasingly important role of corporate demand in the prime rental markets across world cities, says the report from international real estate firm Savills.

Traditionally, the financial and insurance services sector has dominated the corporate relocation market with 50% of tenants working in this area in 2007. But in the aftermath of the financial crisis they now account for just 39% of the market, signifying the shifting nature of employment in the capital.

In its place there has been a rise in the number of technology industries locating in the capital, facilitated by the development of ‘Tech City’ in the east and the recent regeneration of King’s Cross.

‘London attracts companies from around the globe and remains one of the world’s most important centres for global commerce. Consequently, we have a diverse range of different tenants from all business sectors looking to relocate to areas throughout London,’ said Matthew Salvidge, the firm’s head of Corporate Services.

Over the next five years it is estimated that there will be an additional 368,000 employees in London, and around 25% of these will be accounted for by the technology industry. It is set to become the largest industry in central London, and growth in the sector across the UK will outstrip that of California’s ‘Silicon Valley'.

Compared to employees in the financial and insurance industry, who from 2007 to 2013 increased by 6%, underperforming the London average of 10% growth, tech industry employees grew by 19% over the same period.

The latter, however, have on average 25% less budget when relocating and the report points out that this disparity naturally impacts on where they choose to live in London, resulting in a locational shift.

The tech industry has traditionally been concentrated around Old Street and has dispersed outwards from there. Consequently, areas such as Highbury and Islington have benefitted from a rental perspective, with 22% of employees living in these areas working in the sector. This is due to their easy accessibility from the core technological hubs and excellent transport links.

Areas surrounding and easily commutable to King’s Cross, the location of Google’s new headquarters, are likely to enjoy similar success and Savills predicts a 9% increase in office based employment here by 2018. Financial services employees on the other hand prefer living in prime central London locations such as Chelsea or near to their work, in Wapping.

By 2018, while the number of employees in the financial and insurance sector in central London is forecast to remain the same, employees in the professional, scientific and tech industry are set to increase by 16%, making it the largest industry in central London according to Oxford Economics.

‘As the tech industry continues to expand, this extension in popular locations will continue and the demand for rental properties suitable for corporate relocation tenants…

The demolition of an eight-storey office block next to Hounslow bus garage in west London appeared to go out of control yesterday afternoon when a huge section came crashing down, leaving the remaining structure unsafe.

Reports suggest that it cause quite a stir across the vicinity.

The building, in Hounslow High Street, is being demolished to make way for a housing development.

According to Demolition News, Lincolnshire-based contractor GBM Demolition suspended work pending arrival of an inspector from the Health & Safety Executive to investigate the unplanned collapse.

It appears to have been only through good fortune that all debris remained within the perimeter of the site and no one was hurt.

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House prices in Scotland increased by 0.5% in May, but sales fell by 3% probably due to the marketing adjusting to new mortgage rules, according to the latest monthly index.

Year on year prices have climbed 4.3%, or £6,750, to an average price of £162,302, the LSL Property Services/Acadata index also shows.

It points out that May marks longest period of sustained monthly price growth since before the economic crisis and the property market recovery has strengthened across the country, with a new price record being set in Aberdeenshire.

‘We are now seeing the longest sustained period of price growth in seven years. Prices have not climbed so steadily every month since December 2007,’ said Donald MacLellan, chairman of Walker Fraser Steele Chartered Surveyors, part of LSL Property Services.

‘Not only this, but growth has put down roots across the country, with 87% of the local authority areas in Scotland enjoying annual average house price rises. In May a new record house price was reached in Aberdeenshire, taking the cost of an average home to £224,803,’ he explained.

He pointed out that first time buyers provide a solid foundation for the recovery to continue building on.’ In the three months to May 2014, the number of flats sold rose 26% on the same period last year, followed by terraced houses with a 22% annual increase in sales. As the typical property choices for first time buyers, this illustrates the stream of activity at the entry level of the market powering growth and consumer confidence,’ said MacLellan.

He also said that the 3% fall in sales goes against the historic seasonal trend for this time of year, suggesting that tighter regulations under the Mortgage Market Review have temporarily slowed housing transactions.

‘But with recurrent indications that interest rates will rise before the year is out, new record property prices being set, and only three months to go before the independence referendum, potential buyers may also be taking heed of caution and delaying purchase decisions until they can be clear what the future holds,’ he commented.

‘Whether this monthly blip is symptomatic of a broader turning tide in the housing market remains to be seen, as it is still too early to see. More changes are afoot, with greater stress testing and loan to income caps coming into play to ensure the long term health of the property market,’ he said.

He also pointed out that the Bank of England or the UK government intervening further in the property market to rein in housing demand is not necessary in many parts of the UK, and could pull the rug out from under the feet of recovery in areas where growth is still bedding down.

Prices are not rising everywhere. In the city of Glasgow house prices dropped 3.1% in the month to May 2014. ‘The Help to Buy scheme and further investment into new housing developments are a lifeline in areas such as these to consolidate growth,’ added MacLellan.
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The future of ambitious proposals for a new airport in the Thames estuary is set to be determined in the autumn.

That is when the Airport Commission will decide whether to keep this option in the mix or throw it out.

The government established the Airports Commission in September 2012 to advise on the need for and location of future runway capacity. Its interim report in December 2013 set out three options – two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick – and called for further consideration of the Thames Estuary option.

Since then, promoters of shortlisted options have provided more detailed proposals to the commission. This autumn, the commission expects to decide whether or not to shortlist an estuary option, and will then undertake formal consultation on the shortlisted options.

The final report will be published in summer 2015, by which time it will be up to a new government to make any decision.

House sales transaction levels in central London’s prime property market are down 45% compared to June 2013, according to a new report.

The volume of transactions is concerning as the market slows down for the summer months, says the analysis report from W. A. Ellis.

It is probably due to buyers are adopting a 'wait and see' approach for political and economic reasons, said Richard Barber, partner at the estate agency.

‘We've seen a 25% reduction year on year in sales at all price ranges across our prime central London areas of Belgravia, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, South Kensington, Mayfair, and Kensington,’ he pointed out.

‘For instance, in June 2014 only 185 properties were sold, compared to 249 properties in June 2013. It is the underlying reduction in the volume of transactions which is of most concern as we enter the traditionally slower summer quarter,’ explained Barber.

The agency said that the proportion of sales under £2 million has also reduced, but only marginally from 67% to 62%. ‘However, when one looks at the actual number of sales, a more disturbing trend emerges, namely that only 115 flats have been sold in June 2014 beneath £2 million and perhaps the most frightening statistic of all is that only 27 houses were sold in June, whereas last year 49 were sold, a reduction (in transactional terms) of nearly 45%,’ said Barber.

‘The underlying factors are very apparent to close observers of the market; the combination of mansion tax threats, higher stamp duty, ATED and the fear of a Labour government is having a cooling effect on the market in general, but is particularly swingeing within the family house market,’ he explained.

‘There are currently 374 houses for sale within our chosen areas and approximately 92% of them have a price tag in excess of £2 million so it is not entirely surprising that the transaction level is lower,’ he added.

He pointed out that arguably, there is also value to be found as many of these properties offer greater floor area, albeit spread over four to five floors, gardens, patios and better bedroom accommodation.

‘It is apparent, however, that the traditional buyer of these houses, buyers from northern Europe and the UK, are currently weighing up the situation both political and economic, and perhaps adopting a wait and see approach,’ Barber added.

‘What is clear is that keen vendors will need to adjust their expectations if they wish to find a buyer this summer. We have achieved 99% of our asking prices since January 2014 which underlines the importance of accurate and responsible pricing in a changing marketplace,’ he concluded.

ISG has promoted Paul Sharp to head its specialist technical fit-out operation in its UK Engineering business.

The move is part of the company’s plan to strengthen its delivery capability in technically complex fit-out projects within the healthcare and research & development sectors.

ISG has recently worked on specialist fit-out projects at Guy's Hospital in London for Cell Therapy Catapult and also a new research facility at the Natural History Museum. Paul Sharp is currently working on a new stem cell laboratory for King’s College London.

In his new role, Mr Sharp will lead ISG’s bid for opportunities in the forthcoming Medcity in London, which will collaborate with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge to form a world-leading bioscience cluster, where there is significant planned investment in R&D facilities and laboratories. He will also drive the roll out of ISG’s specialist fit-out business nationwide.

Mr Sharp said: “My new role represents a strategic decision by the company to capitalise on many of the world-class technical fit-out projects that ISG has delivered, creating a formal structure to take that expertise to the marketplace as a defined service offer. The success of the bioscience cluster in attracting ground breaking academic research and commercial scientific companies from across the world provides considerable opportunity for the business, with its strong credentials delivering highly complex and mission critical projects.”

Social housing organisations could save £285m a year in building repair and maintenance costs by improving their purchasing, a new study suggests.

The analysis of a range of social housing providers, undertaken by MindMetre Research, highlights that by re-engineering R&M materials purchase and management procedures, social housing organisations could stand to save £1.7bn in social housing R&M costs by the end of the decade.

The research was commissioned by builders’ merchant Travis Perkins.

The study, Material Advantage, looked at 95 housing associations and local authorities that have already addressed inefficiencies in this area, and found that partnering with an organisation to reduce their materials supply chain can enable housing authorities to improve efficiency and productivity with:

• Shorter supply chains
• Accurate stock levels, elimination of wasted time and better ‘first time fix’ rates
• Reduction or elimination of storage requirements
• Product standardisation, ensuring high quality materials at lower costs
• Improved management information on workforce productivity.

Ian Church, managing director of Travis Perkins Group Managed Services, said: “With social housing providers under continued pressure to do more with less, the smallest inefficiency can cause much larger issues for authorities.  Identifying the purchasing and management of R&M materials as a starting point, however, means housing associations can begin to address the issue.

“Partnering with an organisation that improves and shortens the supply chain presents a viable way for organisations to better meet budgets and reduce inefficiency. Bringing purchasing costs closer to the original supplier not only reduces costs, it also brings the benefit of product standardisation, which leads to high product quality and lower long-term costs. What’s more, the improved IT capabilities brought by partnerships like this enable better scheduling, reducing downtime and limiting gaps in between tenancies.”

Engineering firm Jacobs has been brought on board to project manage the construction of the Brighton i360 observation tower.

The 165m-high tower will carry passengers – up to 200 at a time – in a giant pod from bottom to top. It will be the tallest visitor observation attraction in the UK outside of London.

Effectively a vertical cable car, the pod will be elevated to a height of more than 137m, providing 360 degree views.

The i360 is described as a ‘vertical pier’ and is being erected on the sea front at the site of Brighton’s old West Pier. It will incorporate the restoration of some of the original pier, including the Victorian tollbooths. Parts of the cast iron supporting structure will be reused in the new visitor centre and an exhibition will enable visitors to learn about the pier's history. The cast iron structure offshore, known as the sea island, will not be affected – but the wreckage of the derelict pier on the beach will be removed.

The Brighton i360 is designed, engineered, manufactured and promoted by the team responsible for the London Eye. The originators and designers of Brighton i360 are husband and wife team, David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects. They conceived and designed the London Eye.

It will be operated by I-Xperience, headed by former London Eye commercial director Eleanor Harris.

Dr John Roberts designed the Brighton i360. He was the London Eye's principal engineer and is also director of operations for the UK Buildings business of Jacobs UK.

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Under the terms of its contract, announced yesterday, Jacobs is providing engineering design, project management, construction design management (CDM) coordination, and inspection body services.

The steelwork will be erected by Hollandia, who built the London Eye's steel structure. Hollandia is the Netherlands’ largest steelwork supplier.

The civil engineering contractor will be Mackley, a long-established local firm based in Shoreham-by-Sea.

The French company Poma will manufacture the i360 pod and ride computer. Poma built the London Eye capsules and ride computer, and is Europe's largest cable car and ski lift manufacturer.

Jacobs Group vice president Bob Duff said the project was “expected to result in a truly unique and inspiring tourism experience in Brighton”.

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The government has announced plans to sell Constructionline, its online construction supplier database.

It said that private ownership would allow Constructionline “to grow and achieve its full potential, including offering new additional services”.

Constructionline was set up by government in 1998 to meet demand for a cost-effective and easy to use service for suppliers in the construction industry. Through its database of more than 22,000 suppliers, Constructionline links buyers with suitable contractors, ensuring supplier data such as health & safety, technical ability and financial information is kept up to date. Suppliers also benefit from access to more than 8,000 buyers.

It is owned by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and managed on its behalf by Capita.

Constructionline collects supplier firms’ data on an annual basis and independently validates it. Supplier firms pay an annual fee for the pre-qualification service it provides. The level of the fee depends on the size of the firm’s turnover. These fees represent the main revenue stream for Constructionline.

A BIS spokesperson said: “Constructionline offers valuable services to the construction industry, particularly small and medium sized businesses. It has grown significantly under government ownership, and now is the time to enable it to expand further to meet the needs of a changing industry.

“Gaining access to private capital will enable Constructionline to become even more competitive and branch out into new markets.

“Bids will be welcomed from buyers who plan to grow the services provided by Constructionline.”

A trade sale is anticipated and a contract notice for the sale of Constructionline will be published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Half of all tenants in the UK feel a private sector landlord or letting agent has ripped them off with failure to get repairs done the top reason behind this feeling, new research shows.

With more people renting a home privately than ever before, the survey conducted on behalf of Ocean Finance has revealed a high level of dissatisfaction amongst tenants with the service they receive.

It also shows that 46% of tenants deal with their landlord directly, some 24% deal with both a letting agent and a landlord and 30% communicate only with a letting agent.

Renting is more prevalent among younger generations, with 52% of 18 to 24 year olds renting their home privately. Some 46% of 25 to 34 year olds rent and 22% of those aged 35 to 44.

When asked why they had felt ‘ripped off’ by their landlord or letting agent, the most popular reason given by disgruntled tenants was a failure to get repairs done, with 53% unhappy renters complaining of this. This was closely followed by delays in getting repairs carried out cited by 47%.

Other complaints voiced by tenants who felt their landlord or letting agent had ‘ripped them off’ included non-refund of the tenancy deposit, 37%, unreasonable deductions from the tenancy deposit, 25%, unreasonable increases in rent, 23%, and being handed unreasonable fees or charges to begin the tenancy agreement, 22%.

‘The English Housing Survey recently revealed that private renting has hit a peak of four million and has almost doubled since the 1980s. While many more of us are happy to live in rented accommodation, this survey suggests that at certain points in time we can be less than happy with the service provided by landlords and their agents,’ said Ocean Finance spokesman Ian Williams.

‘The biggest driver of dissatisfaction is the failure or timeliness of getting repairs done. If you are left without heating or hot water, for example, you have every right to expect the landlord or their agent to get it fixed promptly,’ he added.

A worrying picture of young British construction professionals has been painted by a new survey.

It strongly suggests that they care more about money than career prospects or feeling happy in their work. And more than half reckon they are underpaid.

These are the findings of a survey of more than 2,000 construction and engineering professionals under the age of 30 by recruitment website CareerStructure.com.

It found that 58% were not satisfied with their salary and 36% expect to leave their current employer within the next six months.

Some 54% said they were not satisfied with the benefits they received. They wanted a performance-related bonus and reckoned they should be paid overtime like manual workers.

On a more positive note, the majority were satisfied with their current promotion prospects, confident they were about to zoom up the career ladder, and more than half of them (56%) rated their employer as good or excellent – despite the money issue.

Rob Searle, commercial director at CareerStructure.com, said: “Young workers are the future of the industry so more must be done to convince them why construction and engineering are attractive professions.  The industry is facing an ongoing skills shortage, which means it’s now more important than ever to retain the best young talent.”

The top ten most important factors for young people in their career are:

1. Salary
2. Career prospects / Challenging Work
3. Job security
4. Recognition of work done
5. Training
6. Degree of responsibility
7. Relationship with colleagues
8. Holiday entitlement
9. Physical working environment
10. Fringe benefits

UK house prices increased by 10.5% in the year to May 2014, up from 9.9% in the year to April 2014, according to the latest index from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

House price annual inflation was 11% in England, 6.5% in Wales, 3.6% in Scotland and 0.7% in Northern Ireland, confirming that price growth is now reaching the whole of the nation.

Overall house prices are increasing strongly across most parts of the UK, with prices in London again showing the highest growth. Indeed, annual house price increases in England were driven by a record annual increase in London of 20.1% and to a lesser extent increases in the South East of 9.6% and the East at 8.6%.

Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 6.4% in the 12 months to May 2014 and on a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 0.8% between April and May 2014.

The data also shows that in May 2014, prices paid by first time buyers were 11.3% higher on average than in May 2013. For owner-occupiers prices increased by 10.1% for the same period.

David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, owned by LSL Property Services, pointed out that the housing market recovery continues to seep across the country beyond the capital.

‘Consumer confidence is travelling further afield, but a balanced view has to be taken as some regions of the country have seen very little house price growth. Places like Lancashire and York are still experiencing annual growth below 1%,’ he explained.

He also pointed out that there are also new signs that growth is beginning to slow. ‘In London prices have begun to fall at the upper end of the market, and the City of Westminster and the City of London have now seen house prices drop in the last 12 months. In four of the top five most expensive London boroughs, average house prices have dipped below their respective peak levels,’ said Newnes.

‘With new affordability regulations and stress tests tightening mortgage approvals, the Help to Buy scheme remains a crucial link in bolstering first time buyer demand and fuelling activity outside of London. Help to Buy may not be making a difference in London, where prices often exceed the upper eligibility limit, but it is a vital aid for aspiring home buyers in parts of the country where prices are still regaining ground lost during the recession,’ he added.

According to Paul Smith, chief executive officer of CEO of haart, the UK’s largest independent estate agent, recent statistics from the same government department show that nine of the 12 regions of the UK are still below their peak in January 2008.

‘This helps keep things in perspective. It’s a positive that house prices are continuing to recover around the UK while London remains a law unto itself, but even here we are seeing prices tail off which is a good thing,’ he said.

‘More stock is coming onto…

New home lending activity in Australia is still trending higher with the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing it at its highest level for four years.

The seasonally adjusted number of loans for construction increased by 0.9% in May 2014 and was up by 3.1% in the three months to May, the ABS data shows.

Loans for the purchase of a new homes increased by 1.6% in May, but fell by 1.6% over the three month period. According to the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry, it is an encouraging forward sign for new home building that the number and value of loans for both construction and new dwellings purchase headed higher.

‘Construction loans, the principal component of new home lending, are at their highest level in over four years. New dwelling commencements are on track to hit their second highest level on record in 2014,’ said Harley Dale, HIA chief economist.

‘It is also encouraging to see that lending for larger alterations and additions is moving higher since a low point reached in February. The market hit a decade low in 2013 and a turnaround this year would clearly be a desirable outcome,’ he explained.

‘With low interest rates and the recurrence of capital gains, there is the opportunity for the market to gather upward momentum,’ he added.

Over the three months to May 2014 HIA’s seasonally adjusted estimate shows the number of loans for new housing in New South Wales rose by 2.1%, by 0.6% in Victoria, by 7.6% in Queensland, by 8% in Western Australia and by 13.8% in Tasmania.

Over this three month period the number of new housing loans fell by 4.4% in South Australia, by 9.9% in the Northern Territory and by 12.4% in the Australian Capital Territory.

The number of homes in the UK that entered the market for sale valued at over £500,000 rose by 30% in the second quarter of 2014, the latest Experian property index shows

Homes in the second highest price band of £250,000 to £500,000 increased by 16%. This is the highest level since 2010 for both price bands.

The data also shows that in the second quarter of 2014 homes worth more than £250,000 made up 41% of all the homes that entered the market for sale compared to 37% in the same quarter of 2013.

Overall, the number of properties to enter the market for sale between April and June 2014, increased by 9.6% compared to the same period in 201 and this rise was led by the North East region which saw the number of houses coming to the market for sale increase by 25.6%.

The only area in the UK that witnessed a fall in numbers was the East of England, which found the number of homes coming on to the sales market decreased slightly by 2.6%.

The rise in the over £500,000 was, led by the London region with an increase of 50.7%. This was followed by the Outer Metropolitan and South West areas.

The West Midlands appeared among the areas to see the highest increase in properties with more than £500,000 coming onto the market for sale with a rise of 25.5% and the North East continued to see the most affordable properties worth less than £100,000 entering the market with a rise of 33.6%.

The rental market, which had been seeing a steady growth each quarter, saw fewer newly advertised properties coming onto the market for rent, down 4.3% across the UK compared to the second quarter of 2013.

The fall was led mainly by the Outer Metropolitan and South East areas which were down 10.5% and 8.8% respectively. The North East and Wales were the only areas to continue to see a growth in rental properties, up 4.3% and 1.8%.

‘The growth in houses prices suggests that home owners may have made reasonable capital gains on their existing properties, especially as they seek to move up the property ladder,’ said Jonathan Westley, managing director of Consumer Information Services at Experian UK and Ireland.

‘Our latest index shows that higher end properties now form a greater proportion of properties appearing for sale, implying it is now second or third time buyers, who are more active in the housing market. But, 59% of all properties across the UK were still valued at less than £250,000 so there are opportunities for those with smaller budgets,’ he explained.

‘The challenge for people wanting to secure a mortgage is showing themselves in the best possible light to lenders, i.e. applicants who can afford the long term commitment, especially with an interest rate rise looming. Lenders have just as an important role to play ensuring they are not making decisions that could see a person fall into debt in…

The government is claiming to have made 15% efficiency savings in its infrastructure bill, cutting £3.4bn of expenditure.

By working with Infrastructure UK and the Infrastructure Client Group, which is led by HS2 construction chief Simon Kirby, best practice in procurement has been promoted across government departments, it is claimed.

The £3bn figure is contained in the third annual report of the Infrastructure Cost Review programme – Infrastructure Cost Review: Measuring and Improving Delivery  (Click or tap to download full report).

The biggest savings have been found in the energy sector, as the table below shows.

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However, some of the energy cost reduction has come from nascent renewables technologies maturing and becoming cheaper, like solar panels and wind turbines.

Savings attributed solely to the cost review programme are £2.5b, or 13%.

On the railways, Network Rail’s cost reduction benchmarks demonstrate that it has achieved a 13.1% saving on £4.7bn works programme, equivalent to £615m annual saving.

The roads sector has made 9% savings on annual local authority highways turnover of £2.8bn equating to £257m. The Highways Agency has found £221m of savings on its £1.3bn capital works programme, a saving of 17%

The initial Infrastructure Cost Review in 2010 set out a series of actions to change the behaviour of government clients and industry that would support a 15% reduction in the costs of infrastructure delivery. This, it is said, has now been achieved but more can be done.

The report says that there is an opportunity to deliver more than £50bn of further efficiency savings over the next decade.

Alongside today’s report, the Treasury has published a Project Initiation Routemap Handbook. This provides a framework to address common problems in infrastructure projects.

Commercial secretary to the Treasury, Lord Deighton, said: “Successive governments have failed to invest sufficiently in the UK’s infrastructure. By dealing with our debts and having a long term vision as set out in the national infrastructure plan, we can deliver the world class infrastructure the UK needs to compete. Delivering infrastructure investment more efficiently is vital to ensure that taxpayers and consumers get more for less.

“The Infrastructure Cost Review programme has helped to establish a refreshed relationship and more open dialogue between government and industry. This has been a success for the third year running. However, we cannot be complacent. As the economy recovers, we will redouble our efforts to ensure that we have the necessary skills, capacity and innovation to embed cost and efficient delivery.”

A roofing contractor has been given a suspended prison sentence after his work on a chimney stack left an elderly couple exposed to deadly fumes.

John Stanley had been hired to sort out a water leak between a double chimney stack and roof tiles by householders at a property on Black Swan Lane, Luton in August 2011. However, his team’s repair work blocked the chimney above a gas fire, leading to poisonous fumes leaking into the loft.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted and Mr Stanley was up before Luton magistrates yesterday. The court heard that employees of Mr Stanley, 47 and from Luton, had dismantled the old double chimney to just below roof tile level and made some repairs to roof timbers and felt. They then built a single chimney stack back up.

But they failed to check that the flue for the gas fire in the property’s back living room was still working. It later emerged that it was this chimney that was blocked when the stack was rebuilt instead of the chimney of the disused and boarded-up fireplace in the property’s front living room.

The householders only found out about this 15 months later when they had to call a local gas man to examine the gas fire, which they were having trouble lighting.

A subsequent investigation by HSE found that the gas fire had been used for more than a year with all the fumes going into the loft, over their bedroom, instead of through the flue and chimney – leaving them at serious risk over an extended period of time. A simple smoke test would have highlighted the issue straight away after completion of the work.

John Stanley, of Hitchin Road, Luton, trading as King Roofing & Durable Plastics, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £500 compensation to the couple he put at risk.

HSE inspector Robert Meardon said after the hearing: “John Stanley’s sub-standard work created an on-going breach and a prolonged risk to the safety of a vulnerable and elderly couple. It cost them a huge amount of unnecessary anxiety and a considerable amount of money to rectify – on top of their savings they had used to pay Mr Stanley for the work.

“When a chimney is the flue for a gas fire, it is a vital part of the gas installation and should only be done by a competent gas engineer on the Gas Safe Register.

“Mr Stanley advertised himself as a specialist roofing contractor, but he was never on the Gas Safe register and not qualified to carry out gas work. He should have never undertaken this job knowing that a gas fire was linked to the chimney.

“This incident could have resulted in fatalities as gas fire fumes can contain poisonous carbon monoxide, which can kill. It is vital that building contractors are aware of the risks they create and comply with the laws in place to control the risks.”

Many property buyers or current home owners in the UK haven’t even heard of the government flagship Help to Buy scheme, new research suggests.

Others have admitted to hearing the name but not knowing what it was, according the survey carried out by removals company Bishop’s Move.

Nationally some 22% don’t know about the scheme but there are regional variations. For example, 25% of home owners and current buyers in the North East hadn’t heard of Help to Buy while only 7% in Yorkshire and 6% in the West Midlands had done so.

A further 28% in the South West and 26% in Yorkshire also admitted to hearing about the scheme but not realising what it was.

Overall just 3% said they were fully aware of Help to Buy’s benefits and have used or knew someone that has used the scheme whilst 52% said they were aware that it was helping first time buyers onto the property ladder.

‘Help to Buy has certainly been making the headlines for some time there are yet pockets of home owners and property buyers across the UK that remain completely unaware of the scheme,’ said Chris Marshall, sales and marketing director at Bishop’s Move.

‘In areas such as the North East, where the property market is somewhat stagnate, it is a worrying statistic that over a quarter of those surveyed haven’t even heard of Help to Buy,’ he pointed out.

‘In order to improve local economies through the housing market, more needs to be done from a regional perspective to ensure people are fully aware of the many benefits Help to Buy can bring,’ he added.

The research also found that over 15% of 18 to 24 year olds think the Help to Buy scheme is a recently launched face to face, personal shopping service by the major supermarkets for over 60s and 11% believe the Help to Buy scheme is a new web service to help online traders shop more securely on sites such as eBay.

In fact less than half of 18 to 24 year olds, 42%, agreed that Help to Buy is a government scheme to help first time buyers onto the property ladder and it isn’t until you reach over the age of 45 years that people fully understand what the scheme is. Some 85% of those aged 45 to 54 and 94% of those aged over 55 knew exactly what Help to Buy is.

'With Help to Buy targeted towards first time buyers, 18 to 24 year olds is a key demographic for the scheme. However, these stats will prove alarming for government officials who are relying on Help to Buy to ensure people fulfill their ambitions of owning a property,' said Marshall.

'It is a concern to see that is isn’t until you reach over the age of 45 where people know exactly what Help to Buy yet this demographic is very likely to be filled with property owners already. Clearly…

Morgan Sindall Professional Services (MSPS) is looking to strengthen its capabilities in engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm).

It has recruited Fluor operations manager Peter Chenery to be project control and programme director for EPCm work.

At Fluor he headed up multi-million pound, global projects from concept, through to design, procurement and construction.

Mr Chenery said that his immediate priorities were to boost the project controls focus of MSPS. “Working within a multidisciplinary, design and engineering consultancy I will be able to use the full breadth of my skills and experience to centralise project management, ensuring further efficiency in planning, scheduling and budget control,” he said.

MSPS managing director Richard Webster said: “This new role, coupled with Peter’s extensive experience, particularly with leading pharmaceutical and life-science clients, will provide our clients with clear, reliable and efficient project delivery programmes.”

Morgan Sindall has specialist engineering and process design skills in biotechnology, R&D and manufacturing.  MSPS has offices in Manchester, London, Glasgow, Stratford-upon-Avon and Switzerland.

Andy Sneyd of Crown House Technologies has been elected president of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) for 2014/15.

Mr Sneyd is a chartered engineer and a fellow of the Chartered Institution of Building. As head of design at Crown House Technologies, a subsidiary of Laing O’Rourke, he manages the design and engineering aspects of mechanical, electrical and plumbing projects worth £300m annually and controls a design budget of more than £20m.

The B&ES said that he brought to the presidency “a profound understanding of a range of professional cultures, along with an ability to build and maintain complex stakeholder relationships”.

Jim Marner of Shepherd Engineering Services has become president elect and Malcolm Thomson of Enigma Environmental Services is vice president. Bruce Bisset of Galloway Group will serve as immediate past president for the next 12 months.

The Treasury has approved construction of a new £353m hospital in Smethwick, to be funded by both the public and private sector through the new PF2 private finance route.

The announcement coincided with a visit today by chancellor George Osborne to Rowley Regis Hospital – part of Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.

Mr Osborne has approved £100m of state funding upfront for the project and sanctioned the trust to seek a PF2 partner to take it forward.

The new Midland Metropolitan Hospital will bring together acute services on to one site, promoting better patient safety and a patient experience while ensuring the best value for money for the taxpayer.

The 670-bed hospital in Grove Lane, Smethwick, is being built over 16 acres on a former heavy industrial site. It will have approximately 80,000 square metres of floor space and will replace Sandwell Hospital in West Bromwich and City Hospital in Winson Green.

The trust expects to select a private sector partner next year, which will in turn select its main contractor for the building works.

Construction of is expected to start in 2016 and be completed by 2019.

Imposing lending restrictions on the buy to let mortgage market in the UK could have damaging consequences for landlords and the supply of rental properties, it is claimed.

According to tenant eviction and rent recovery firm Landlord Assist, changes to the mortgage lenders conditions could make it more difficult to find a buy to let loan or to remortgage an existing deal.

The Bank of England recently told banks not to give more than 15% of new home loans to home buyers borrowing more than 4.5 times their annual income. It also told lenders to perform stricter tests to ensure borrowers can repay their loans when interest rates start to rise.

Although lending in the buy to let market wasn’t covered by the tougher rules announced by the Bank of England, it is believed that the rental sector is to be closely monitored to ensure private landlords don’t take on debts they may struggle to repay.

‘The banks are being asked not to provide a loan of greater than 4.5 times income for the vast majority of their loans and being asked to stress test applications to see if people can afford the mortgage if interest rates were to go up by 3%,’ said Graham Kinnear, managing director at Landlord Assist.

‘Whilst this is in place for the owner occupier market we can see a situation where this is, in some form or another, extended to the buy to let market as well. Clearly, we do not advocate landlords taking loans out which they can’t afford when interest rates go up but it is important that the income those properties generate is included within any affordability calculations,’ he added.

Stephen Parry, commercial director at Landlord Assist, pointed out that many landlords have no employed income but have a property portfolio which pays the mortgages and provides them with a surplus as an income. ‘We would not want to see these people struggling to remortgage onto competitive rates should they wish to do so,’ he said.

Landlord Assist is concerned that imposing restrictions on lending in the buy to let market could reduce the supply of rental accommodation in the UK at a time when it is most needed.

‘There is a strong and growing rental sector and there is a clear need for the amount of available property to rent to increase to meet this growing demand. Making buy to let borrowing more difficult could have the reverse effect and leave the market in a painful cycle of increasing rents and reduced choice,’ added Kinnear.

Prime property prices in Scotland were 2.8% higher in the second quarter of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013, according to the latest data to be published.

At the end of June 2014, there were six potential buyers registered for each available property and stock levels were 36% higher than at the end of the first quarter, the data from Knight Frank shows.

It also shows that the volume of prime property for sale in Scotland has increased steadily through 2014 but warns that buyers are becoming more cautious in the run up to the referendum on independence in September.

Overall country house prices were unchanged in the second quarter of the year, following three consecutive quarters of price growth but on an annual basis prime property values in Scotland are 2.8% higher.

The greater choice available to buyers ensured that the number of property viewings taking place between April and June was 3% higher year on year.

However, there are signs that buyers are becoming more reluctant to enter the market with the referendum just around the corner. The number of individuals looking to purchase a prime country home in Scotland was 25% lower at the end of the second quarter compared to the same time last year, reflecting the uncertainty caused by the referendum.

‘There is some hesitancy on the part of buyers to get involved with the market until the question over Scottish independence has been answered. This is especially true for buyers from outside of Scotland, who are waiting until after the result of the referendum is announced in September,’ said Ran Morgan, head of Knight Frank’s Scottish residential department.

‘However, an increase in the number of homes available for sale is good news for those who are looking to move as it affords them greater choice in their home search. And while activity and interest from buyers has been greatest for homes worth up to £1 million, we have noticed a rise in interest for properties priced above this, with the sale of the Auch and Invermearan Estate in Argyllshire and Perthshire for over £10 million a particular highlight,’ he added.

While prices remained static across all regions over the course of the quarter, there are regional variations in price performance for prime Scottish homes over the year to June 2014. The Scottish Borders and the Central region lead the way with growth of 5.8% and 3.2% respectively.

The luxury property market in Spain’s Balearic Islands has seen an encouraging start to the year with demand from wealthy buyers reported as being well up on 2013.

Ibiza is seeing the biggest upswing, according to Glynn Evans, managing director of Ibiza Sotheby's International Realty, with interest being generated by a constant stream of luxury lifestyle news items relating to the island.

He pointed out that Ibiza is now thought to have the most expensive restaurant in the world with the Sublimotion restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel charging €1,500 euros per head for 20 courses. Also Michelin star chefs Ferran and Albert Adria of elBulli fame, have just announced that they're opening a new restaurant in Ibiza in 2015.

The 16th edition of the annual Gumball 3000 Rally concluded in Ibiza in June bringing supercars and supermodels to the island, the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship is on its way for a three day Grand Prix in September and the port of Ibiza it so have an €8 million facelift to create a much improved super yacht haven.

‘It's not just hearsay anymore that the island can rival the French Riviera in terms of cuisine, ambience and cool factors. ‘We're attracting buyers who have previously had homes in the South of France but are selling up and moving to Ibiza. The celebrities are also coming early this year, we've had Naomi Campbell, Sir Paul McCartney, Kate Moss, Enrique Iglesias, David Silva, Paz Vega, all in the past few weeks, and it all adds up to Ibiza being a very desirable place to own a second home,’ explained Evans.

‘Halfway through 2014 the island's luxury property market is in a very encouraging state. At the high end, there have already been in excess of 25 transactions for villas priced over €2 million, some with which we've had direct involvement, others where we have gained specific knowledge. There will undoubtedly be further high end sales that haven't been openly publicised,’ he said.

The firm is seeing unprecedented demand, up more than 50% on 2013, and Evans said it has already sold its target number of €2 million plus villas for the whole of 2014.

‘Although it's hard to evidence, particularly with the notoriety of Spanish statistics, prices are on an upward trajectory. The volume is really too low at the high end to draw proper year on year comparisons, but recently we had two parties fighting over the same house and one offered €150,000 over the asking price to seal the deal. Likewise, I would very much love to have some of last year's sold property still on our books, as I am sure they would achieve higher prices today,’ he pointed out.

He also explained that British buyers are still predominant, followed by a more even spread of Germans, French and Dutch. Generally interest is from Europe, and there has not been a rise in buyers from China and Russia attracted by Spain’s golden visa programme which grants citizenship…

Developer Lateral Property Group has submitted plans for a £135m retail development and stadium complex with Wakefield Council.

The 10,000 capacity stadium will be home to Castleford Tigers Rugby League Club. The shops will pay for it.

Lateral Property is looking to develop a site at Glasshoughton, next to Junction 32 of the M62.

GMI Construction is already lined up as contractor for the project. The aim is to start construction in summer 2015, subject to planning permission.

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Average house prices across the UK now exceed 2007 levels, however some indicators suggest that the pace of growth may be set to slow with new mortgage rules adding a dampener.

UK house prices rose by 1% in June, and are now 11.8% higher on an annual basis but the latest house price sentiment index from Knight Frank and Markit suggests there is an easing of expectations for future price growth.

The value of an average home has risen by £20,000 or 11.8% over the last year. Data from Nationwide shows that the value of an average property in the UK is now £188,903, above the pre-crisis peak levels seen in 2007.

However there are still large regional variations in the pace of growth, with London prices up 26% over the year while property in Yorkshire and Humberside has risen in value by 7% over the same period, Knight Frank says in its latest UK residential update report.

This rapid rise in prices has been identified by Sir John Cunliffe, deputy governor of the Bank of England, as the biggest threat to the UK economy. He said that prices rising faster than earnings led to the risk of rising consumer debt which the bank sees as a threat to stability.

His colleagues have been active around mortgage credit in recent weeks, with a much anticipated announcement by the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee that it would step in and apply curbs on new home loans. From October, lenders will have to limit the number of loans they advance where the value of the mortgage exceeds 4.5 times a borrower’s annual income.

Lenders will have to ensure than 85% of their loans are under this 4.5 limit. It added that lenders should apply stress testing to ensure that borrowers can still afford their monthly mortgage repayments if interest rates climbed by 3%.

The impact of the changes may be limited on a national level, coming shortly after the new MMR mortgage rules which had already tightened up the application process. In addition, many mortgage lenders already carry out ‘stress tests’ to check that new borrowers can still make repayments. However, the limiting of loans advanced at 4.5 times income could have an effect on the London market, which has seen a sharp rise in the number of loans advanced at this level.

The report also points out that the measure of the price growth anticipated by households across the UK fell by the biggest margin since 2011 in June this year. Londoners’ expectations for growth moderated for the second month in a row.

‘There is increasing expectation that interest rates will start to rise before the end of the year, and this, coupled with more downbeat economic news from Europe, has helped push sterling to near six year highs against a basket of currencies. Indeed, the UK’s economic growth is looking fairly solid on the global stage. The size of the UK economy will overtake that of France before…

One in five people in Briton is planning or considering a property purchase in the next two years and 77% will share the purchase with a partner, relative or friend, according to new research.

Affordability is the main reason for a joint purchase cited by one in four, the research by Santander Insurance has found. It also found that 39% of these transactions will be between friends, family members, and unmarried couples.

Some 22% of those who are planning or considering a joint purchase in the next two years are doing so with their unmarried partner while 13% will share the purchase with their parents and 4% expect their home purchase to be made jointly with someone else such as a friend or other relative.

This contrasts with current figures where just 7% of people own a home with an unmarried partner, 3% with their parents and 2% with a friend or other relative.

Santander’s study highlights that almost half, some 44% of existing joint home owners have no life insurance cover and a further 27% of those who are planning or considering joint home ownership have no plans to buy it.

The research also shows that of those planning a joint purchase, unmarried couples are almost twice as likely as married couples, 39% versus 21%, to do so without life insurance.

Santander is reminding all joint home owners, regardless of their relationship, of the importance of life cover, to ensure co-owners, family and dependents are protected, should something happen to either party.

The main reason for buying jointly, cited by 23%, was that shared ownership is the only way they can get a foot on the ladder. Only a fifth, 21%, of those planning a joint purchase will do so simply because they want to live with the other person and 16% will buy jointly because it will leave them less financially stretched.

Also, some 15% will do so in order to afford a bigger property and 9% of those hoping to buy jointly in the next two years say their main motivation is taking advantage of a good investment opportunity.

‘Sharing the purchase of a property, whether that’s with friends, family or a partner, is a great way to spread the financial burden of home ownership. Most people entering into a home purchase will be looking to keep costs down, but we’d urge people not to cut corners when it comes to life cover, as it provides a vital safety net for those around you,’ said Alan Mathewson, head of Santander Insurance.

When asked how they would cover the remaining financial commitments in the event that the person they own a home with was unable to make them, only 38% said they would do so through their own financial means. A quarter say they would rely on the other person’s life insurance, 17% would be forced to sell the property and 9% would seek financial help from family and friends while 6% of those questioned…

Plans for a new Tottenham Hotspur Football Club stadium have moved forward after the government approved the site acquisition deal.

Ministers have agreed with a compulsory purchase order (CPO) made by the London Borough of Haringey, which will enable the project to go ahead.

Building a new 56,000-seater stadium next door to its current White Hart Lane home is part of a wider regeneration plan for the area – the £400m Northumberland Development Project.

More than 95% of the three hectare site has already been acquired by agreement and work has already begun on the first of three phases of the redevelopment plan. The order was requested to allow the final two phases to proceed and follows a public inquiry.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles said: “This scheme is supported by the locally determined development plan for the area and has received strong local support.

“The redevelopment proposals have had far reaching support from local MPs, the London Mayor’s champion for Tottenham and the chairman of the Independent Tottenham Taskforce.

“They all consider the project important for bringing much needed private investment into one of the most disadvantaged areas of London.”