Think Tank Proposes Self Build Revolution - UK Self Build Market Report

The solution to the UK’s housing crisis lies in creating affordable self build plots for first-time

buyers says leading think tank, Policy Exchange.

See the full report on the self build market (Q4 2012) from the Home Building & Renovating team, which shows:

• The number of self build home completions for Q4-2012 was 2,770.
• The total number of self build homes completed in the UK for the year to December 31 2012 was 11,160.
• The self build sector contributed approximately 8% of new housing in 2012 and 28% of all new detached homes.
• Spend on construction materials and services in the self build sector during 2012 was approximately £2.95bn.

Plus:
Plotfinder Index Q4 2012 - Anaylisis of the market for small development sites. 

• The average price for a small development site (primarily sites with planning permission for a single new dwelling) is 3.67 per cent higher than 12 months ago according to price information recorded by the Plotfinder Index.
• The average price for a small development site in Q4-2012 was £199,283.
• The average number of sites available on the open market and listed on Plotfinder.net during Q4-2012 was 3,292 — 21% more than a year earlier.
• The median time taken for a site to sell was 235 days (market to exchange), compared to 272 days 12 months earlier.

Extract from Home Building & Renovating:
The solution to the housing crisis and chronically low level of housebuilding in the UK is to hand over decision making to local communities and create a more politically attractive model of development, proposes a new report ‘A Right to Build’ from leading think tank Policy Exchange.

By marrying a community’s recognition of the need for affordable housing for the next generation and key workers, with the ability to steer planning decisions through Neighbourhood Plans and the Community Right to Build, it is hoped that NIMBYism will be allayed.

Instead of the ‘top down’ approach whereby some communities have vast new estates imposed upon them, whilst others escape with little or no development, people will be able to decide for themselves by majority vote how much new housing they want, where they want it, and how it should look. They can also ensure a proportion of the land for new housing is made available exclusively to locals and those with a connection to the community for affordable self build projects.

Under the Community Right to Build, local communities in England are already able to grant themselves planning permission to develop land that would not otherwise be considered suitable for housebuilding.
Under such a scheme, the landowner receives a price for the site greater than its agricultural or amenity value, and the community secures building land for considerably below-market value. The community can thus create affordable building plots for sale and development as it sees fit.

To control abuse, the report proposes that access to self build plots would be limited to one per household, and that the land could not be used to create a second home. Those who build would have to live in the property for at least five years or pay ‘claw-back’ charges.

The report also proposes a number of policy initiatives to boost the selfbuild sector, and to ensure it remains affordable, including removing Section 106 Agreements — levies on planning gain typically used to fund infrastructure or affordable housing.

It also recommends that the Community Infrastructure Levy be capped at £10,000 per self build home, with 25% going to the local community.

Peter Harris and Nick Noble

For the Homebuilding & Renovating team

Stand out performer - a casestudy in EstimatorXpress

Having helped his dad ever since he was a young lad, Essex builder Brad Wheeler has experienced a lot of change in the sector over the years.

His business, Wheeler Construction, operates across the Hockley and Southend area and holds an enviable reputation based on some impressive refurbishment and extension work.

Although the majority of new business comes via recommendation from happy customers, Brad is very much a firm believer in always improving the way he operates and none more so in the way he puts together and presents estimates and quotes.

Having always been on top of the game when it comes to computer-based packages, Brad has used some form of estimating software for about 20 years – but none ever really suited his needs!

That was until he came across the latest version of HBXL’s EstimatorXpress which he has now been using for just over 12 months.

The first thing that Brad noticed was the software’s versatility in that he can adapt all resources (labour, materials, plant and sub-contractors) both quantities and / or prices dependent on specific jobs. This means he is able to keep a very close eye on his margins.

And according to Brad, because EstimatorXpress is mainly diagram led, means the system is pretty much full proof when it comes to inputting dimensions.

Brad said: “Like any new bit of kit you need to sit down and invest a little time just so you get used to the way it works. With EstimatorXpress, once you’ve done this, it’s a piece of cake!

“It is much quicker than any system I’ve used before and its ease of use and accuracy is very impressive.

“On one recent job the client kept changing the specification which meant I had to go back eight times with a new price. But it didn’t matter because all I had to do was adjust the specification settings within EstimatorXpress and the software did the rest in minutes.

“I’m lucky in that I’ve been operating for many years so people in the area I work know that we provide a quality service which has resulted in customers trusting us.

“Having trust in your builder is vital. There’s no doubt EstimatorXpress saves me a lot of time and I can definitely see how it can help builders win more work. It also helps build that trust as the prices given are right up to date. The detail is also helpful as I can demonstrate exactly where the money is being spent right down to the last brick if necessary.

“Nowadays once I get home from a site I can quickly put together a new quote while my wife gets the dinner ready.

“There’s no way I could go back to working out estimates manually as it would just take too long.

“We all know that the economy has taken bit of a battering in recent years but now is the time to invest in systems such as EstimatorXpress as it will help builders not only improve productivity but help them stand out from the crowd.”

Joanna Mulgrew, marketing director at HBXL said: “Brad is an excellent example of someone who is willing to embrace new ways of working in order to improve the service he provides.

“We’ve said it many times before that those who are willing to adapt and make use of new technologies that are designed specifically for them will ultimately be the ones who will not only stand out but will improve productivity.

“As well as Brad’s reputation this use of IT we believe has helped Wheeler Construction become increasingly competitive and is why the business is doing so well – we wish Brad all the best for the future.”
For further information on any HBXL product please call T: 0845 1234 065 or visit the web site www.hbxl.co.uk

Builders and the budget

What’s in the budget for builders?

Here’s our quick round-up:

1. The Government is making £130 billion available in mortgage guarantees from 2014 to help people who are struggling to get deposits together to buy a new home. This means that deposits of up to 25% of a home’s value can be achieved with just 5% £ from the homeowner (the government guarantees the other 20%). This should be good news for developers of new homes and the result will cascade down to trades. The industry can be a bit more confident that more people – not just first time buyers- will be able to buy homes.
2. The Government is investing £4.5 billion in housing to build affordable housing, again good news for the sector.
3. Fuel tax increases frozen. This is good news for all the vans and lorries the industry runs!
4. Everyone’s personal tax allowance has increased to £10,000. This has been brought forward so everyone should have a bit more cash in their pocket.
5. The Bank of England can now commit to longer term interest rates and communicate these to the industry so that housing developers can make judgements on taking longer low interest loans to get building.
6. The Government is writing off the first £2000 of national insurance payments by companies, making them £2k better off. A little bit of good news.

Plus there was more good news for planning and self-build. The Government is providing a £30 million fund to help with self-build. This should slowly filter down to tradesmen and project managers…

Finally there is 1p off a pint. Enough said.

HBXL celebrate excellence in construction, hunting down the UK’s most heavenly builder

As sponsors and partner of the FMB’s 11th Master Builder of the Year awards, HBXL were delighted to attend the event on the 20th March 2013.

The FMB were delighted with the sheer number of enquiries – the highest ever – and the quality of the work presented. The awards highlight the excellent work carried out by small and medium sized building firms across the country. The awards also give satisfied clients the opportunity to show their appreciation for their builder’s works.

HBXL sponsor the Heavenly Builder award which is very close to our heart. It’s an award supported by satisfied clients of building firms who annual turnover is less than £300,000.

The Heavenly Builder award is all about making sure that clients are delighted with all aspects of the project and the final results. As George Clarke, Architect and TV presenter said “Trust is the most important thing when building. It’s crucial to the success of industry, as is communication”. This is clearly central to being a heavenly builder.

Nothing demonstrates this better than Regional Winner for Yorkshire and Trent “Kuno Jackson Building Contractors” of the Small Renovation Projects category.

A chance meeting with Kuno Jackson Building Contractors and their extremely happy client Annette Southcott at the awards do, gave HBXL a very warm feeling!

Annette approached us at the event to praise her builder and was very quick to point out that her builder is a software user of EstimatorXpress and ContractsXpert.

She said that the detailed quote produced by EstimatorXpress and full cost breakdown supplied by Kuno Jackson really impressed her. Her husband added “I usually red pen quotes and contracts with questions. I don’t remember doing this with the quote from EstimatorXpress and the building contract produced by ContractsXpert as they were so thorough”.

Kuno Jackson, the building company owner said “the HBXL customer support team are excellent, and once we had set up EstimatorXpress with our discounts, we started to win jobs off the back of the quotes produced by the system.” He added. “I like the FMB contract produced by ContractsXpert as it provides me with security.”

We are absolutely delighted with this feedback.

Add to this that a further 9 firms who are also regional winners own HBXL software we are chuffed to bits. It seriously underlines the importance of professionalising your business through useful tools like building software from HBXL.

A final paraphrased note from Mark Prisk, Housing Minister. “These awards are all about excellence in this field. Small businesses are innovators and nimble footed. These businesses design and develop quality buildings. SME’s set the standards for the industry.”
We can’t agree more.

A list of all the winners are available on the FMB's website

And here's the overall Heavenly Builder award winner - M Gaffney of M Gaffney & Sons.

Estimating service ideal solution for self builders wanting accurate view on cost

Self builders wanting to get an accurate view on how much their dream home will cost can take advantage of a new time-saving service.

 

The HBXL Estimating Service is the latest innovation from the leading building software developer that will provide self-builders not only with a totally accurate idea on how much a project will cost but complete peace of mind on where their money is going.

 

With any self-build project, making sure there is a sensible and realistic estimate on how much a project will cost is vital, because if there isn’t one, it could prove very expensive in the long run!

 

With almost 90% of building projects going over budget, anyone thinking about extending their home, renovating an older building or building a new home should make sure they get their budgets right from the very beginning - and stick to them.

 

And this new service is perfect for getting any project off on the right footing.

 

Joanna Mulgrew, marketing director at HBXL said this new service will provide self-builders a life line saving them the worry of an accurate building estimate.

 

She said: “It’s imperative that those looking to build their dream home know where the money is going. Similarly, property renovators need to be more shrewd in today’s market by knowing exactly what their costs are. There’s nothing worse than realising half way through a project that the budget you had will not cover the cost.

 

“This is a perfect solution for any self-builder wanting to know the cost on the design of their project. The problem is that most self-builders don’t have the expertise to price up accurately the cost of a build.

 

“What this new service does is provide a one stop shop for self-builders needing to get together a price or quote.”

 

Ideal for those working on extensions, new build, garages or loft conversions all that’s required is a set of the plans which will be sent to HBXL. Once received a team of expert estimators will price it quickly and accurately.

 

Joanna added: “We'll confirm deadlines before we start on a quote, with small jobs taking between three and four days and larger projects taking about seven to ten days maximum.

 

Joanna said the firm’s estimate pricing was worth every penny with prices ranging from £79 for a garage, £140 for an extension or loft conversion and £199 for a new build.

 

The self-builder will receive a detailed estimate report pack outlining a summary of the project’s cost, detailed cost breakdown for materials and a build program for when each part of the project will take place.

 

Joanna added: “This really is the perfect solution for self-builders wanting to keep a close eye on costs. The thing to note is that no other service can provide the level of detail we can and no other service is as accurate.”

 

For details on the HBXL Estimating Service please call T: 0845 1234 095 or visit the web site www.estimating-service.co.uk