Rich pickings for developers

We all know there’s a huge shortfall in affordable family housing in the UK and are constantly reminded that we’re heading for a housing crisis. Gordon Brown has got the message and the government has stated that if we fail to build more homes the proportion of thirty year old couples able to purchase their own property could fall from 50% today to less than 30% in 20 years.

To tackle the housing deficit the government is taking several measures to: identify areas where demand outstrips supply; encourage land release for development; and speed up the planning process to reduce the demand/supply gap. Late last year some 45 towns and cities were labelled New Growth Points (NGP’s). In these areas there is huge development potential which should deliver up to 100,000 extra new homes over the next 10 years than was previously planned.

This is great news for residential property developers and investors across the country as there are going to be profitable opportunities in these areas.

There are 70 local authorities across the country with high housing demands that were successful in their bids for government funding for regeneration.

The NGP areas cover a wide regional spread from Truro to Lincoln and include major cities like Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham, and Bristol as well as large and small towns like Swindon, Reading, Ipswich, Grantham, Thetford and Maidstone.

Each of these areas has received a share in £40m of initial government funding to support infrastructure and unlock potential sites for new housing developments.

“Our advice to all developers is strike while the iron’s hot, research the NGP’s, contact the 70 local authorities now to get a slice of the action. It is clear that local authorities are under pressure to release land and consider applications at a far greater rate than was previously experienced. The canny developer will grasp these local authority-led opportunities as they can offer huge investment potential,” explains Roger Tidyman, executive director, United Trust Bank.