New housing agency

Objectives …to locate surplus public land and the development of brownfield sites

Gordon Brown’s plan to build new homes at a rate of 240,000 per year by 2016, has been attacked by some leading economists as lacking ambition.

Brown’s target of building almost a quarter of a million homes a year is “extremely feasible” and could be increased to a higher rate, according to the The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

It is estimated that the government is forecasting an annual growth rate in new properties in England of 3.6 per cent.

About 167,000 new homes are built each year in England at present and the annual growth rate in new builds has been 5.2 per cent over the past five years, according to the Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Mr Brown has put housing at the centre of his parliamentary programme for the next year and declared a target of building 3 million new homes across the UK by 2020. A new housing agency, charged with finding surplus public land and the development of brownfield sites, will also be set up.

Economists and analysts welcome the dedication of Mr Brown’s administration to helping first-time buyers climb on to the property ladder. However, the consensus seems to be that the success of such a programme would hinge on regional and local governments.

In the speech, Mr Brown also offered more support for Treasury proposals, first outlined a year ago, for increasing the supply of cheap long-term fixed-rate mortgages of 20 to 25 years in length. Legislation has also been proposed to encourage “covered bonds” vehicles that lenders can use to finance the longer fixed-rate mortgages they offer.

While 25 to 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are available, demand for them remains low as their pricing is uncompetitive.

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Article date: 07.07