Build Build Build

[Gunners]

When I worked for housebuilders nearly 20 years ago now I remember them talking about having standard house types and many actually had them designed and ready to go.
Having worked for a couple of the major players for 10 years, I can say that not one of the schemes I knew of in the regions I was part of was actually building a standard layout. Planning rules in various areas meant that each house had to be slightly different and across a scheme of 150 units, we might be building 10 different house types (of varying sizes, bedrooms etc) but of those 10, you'd be lucky if you built the same house to the same spec twice.
One would have a chimney, one wouldn't, one would be rendered, the next tile hung, the next brickwork, one had an extra door to the kitchen (I remember well when it was discovered this was forgotten!!! )
You can imagine the difficulties it brings getting a bespoke product, mass built in the outdoors open to all elements. I'm not saying the trades who work on these sites cant do a better job at keeping the quality up, but changing every house slightly certainly doesn't help the process, keep costs down or improve the speed of build.

 

[Gunners]

More than 17,000 homes stalled due to lack of ‘section 106’ bids from housing associations, says HBF

Number of building sites with delays quadrupled between March and October

www.building.co.uk

Now this one is very interesting. Why do HA's not want more units??

Legal and General (yes the insurance company) are trying to become the biggest landlord in the UK. They had shares in Cala Homes for a few years and now have their own development business. They have been buying huge swathes of off plan houses from other developers too - all for private rent.....
You'd have thought rather than the risk of buying land, getting planning and actually building them - that being a housing association would have been a better business for L&G. A developer builds the houses to your spec as part of their 106 obligations and you take them on from there.
Clearly there is another strategy we don't understand yet but my guess is private rent is likely to increase both in terms of cost to the tenant and volume of people renting rather than buying. A lack of HA units only fuels that fire/ business opportunity......

 

[pettsy]

A mate of mine is a joiner for a small developer. I remember him talking about a site last year where they were doing 6 identical bungalows. They all ended up being slightly different as different people did each one

 

[V8Druid]

More than 17,000 homes stalled due to lack of ‘section 106’ bids from housing associations, says HBF

Number of building sites with delays quadrupled between March and October

www.building.co.uk

Now this one is very interesting. Why do HA's not want more units??

Legal and General (yes the insurance company) are trying to become the biggest landlord in the UK. They had shares in Cala Homes for a few years and now have their own development business. They have been buying huge swathes of off plan houses from other developers too - all for private rent.....
You'd have thought rather than the risk of buying land, getting planning and actually building them - that being a housing association would have been a better business for L&G. A developer builds the houses to your spec as part of their 106 obligations and you take them on from there.
Clearly there is another strategy we don't understand yet but my guess is private rent is likely to increase both in terms of cost to the tenant and volume of people renting rather than buying. A lack of HA units only fuels that fire/ business opportunity......

but there is no lack of units available to HA,s - they just aren't buying them, probably 'cos they're too costly, from MS dev.s and preferring to build them themselves, according to the article you're quoting/referring to Ollie.
What needs to be remembered is HA,s /social LLs get preferential treatment when it comes to land purchases ....
they WILL get planning on sites no one else will - Rural exception sites being an example - they can buy greenfield ag AND get planning on it ..
has happened on several locations round here - thus making their builds SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than buying from MS dev.s who have had to pay massive premiums on their plots in the first place.

 

[Vinpetrol]

When I worked for housebuilders nearly 20 years ago now I remember them talking about having standard house types and many actually had them designed and ready to go.
Having worked for a couple of the major players for 10 years, I can say that not one of the schemes I knew of in the regions I was part of was actually building a standard layout. Planning rules in various areas meant that each house had to be slightly different and across a scheme of 150 units, we might be building 10 different house types (of varying sizes, bedrooms etc) but of those 10, you'd be lucky if you built the same house to the same spec twice.
One would have a chimney, one wouldn't, one would be rendered, the next tile hung, the next brickwork, one had an extra door to the kitchen (I remember well when it was discovered this was forgotten!!! )
You can imagine the difficulties it brings getting a bespoke product, mass built in the outdoors open to all elements. I'm not saying the trades who work on these sites cant do a better job at keeping the quality up, but changing every house slightly certainly doesn't help the process, keep costs down or improve the speed of build.

 

[Vinpetrol]

I remember the same gunners , in my first years on site I worked for Bryant homes and Charles church predominantly in the Home Counties . I remember setting out founds from memory and also doing the block and beam floors without drawings as you’d learned what sizes went in each house style . The speed it brought to the build was notable . You never saw a drawing on site . Same up here when I worked with a contractor who built 10 retirement homes all identical . By the time I’d done 3 off them I didn’t need a drawing for founds or drainage .
You’d think that adopting designs that simplify builds would be key given the pressure that’s on to build so many houses .

 

[V8Druid]

I remember the same gunners , in my first years on site I worked for Bryant homes and Charles church predominantly in the Home Counties . I remember setting out founds from memory and also doing the block and beam floors without drawings as you’d learned what sizes went in each house style . The speed it brought to the build was notable . You never saw a drawing on site . Same up here when I worked with a contractor who built 10 retirement homes all identical . By the time I’d done 3 off them I didn’t need a drawing for founds or drainage .
You’d think that adopting designs that simplify builds would be key given the pressure that’s on to build so many houses .

sadly though Vin, you then end up with 'legoland' (rather than the usual 'disguised ' legoland) unless the design is 'nice' in the first place, which is more than feasible/achievable and the dev.s greed takes a back seat ... they all want the max for the min. outlay (which is human nature), but a smaller slice for easier, quicker sales, still leads to a positive figure on the balance sheets and probably more rapidly than struggling to flog the crap they're currently touting (and which ppl often struggle to mortgage - lenders are more than switched on to the overpriced crud being slung up and just don't value them the same as the asking - simples). Had it from the horse's mouth last year (local bank manager) that banks, etc. are massively wary of lending against overpriced new builds from the MS sector, for fear of what'll be likely 'coming down the line' at a later date.

 

[TiltyShaun]

More than 17,000 homes stalled due to lack of ‘section 106’ bids from housing associations, says HBF

Number of building sites with delays quadrupled between March and October

www.building.co.uk

Now this one is very interesting. Why do HA's not want more units??

Legal and General (yes the insurance company) are trying to become the biggest landlord in the UK. They had shares in Cala Homes for a few years and now have their own development business. They have been buying huge swathes of off plan houses from other developers too - all for private rent.....
You'd have thought rather than the risk of buying land, getting planning and actually building them - that being a housing association would have been a better business for L&G. A developer builds the houses to your spec as part of their 106 obligations and you take them on from there.
Clearly there is another strategy we don't understand yet but my guess is private rent is likely to increase both in terms of cost to the tenant and volume of people renting rather than buying. A lack of HA units only fuels that fire/ business opportunity......

If tenants think private landlords are greedy, wait and see what happens when L&G or Lloyd’s bank are you landlords. Rent up every year!!
The government are happy for these funders to join the PRS. Saves them having to fund the HA. Client of mine can’t find a HA even interested in taking 4 houses he has to build on his site of 10. If the government think they can get 1.5million built with 40% for HA rental, they are bigger clowns than even I give them credit for!!

 

[DaveDCB]

I’m swaying away from houses as much as possible these days… I love building them, all different and bespoke bits on them, but the legals and nonsense that’s going into them these days is getting beyond worth bothering! I’ll see what the next one brings but I can’t imagine I’m going to be rushing into building another one very quickly!

 

[bobthebuilder]

I’m swaying away from houses as much as possible these days… I love building them, all different and bespoke bits on them, but the legals and nonsense that’s going into them these days is getting beyond worth bothering! I’ll see what the next one brings but I can’t imagine I’m going to be rushing into building another one very quickly!

same boat ,got shot of the last one ,not bothering again unless something special pops up ,got a client wanting a bespoke one built and want us to do it ,turnkey

 

[TiltyShaun]

same boat ,got shot of the last one ,not bothering again unless something special pops up ,got a client wanting a bespoke one built and want us to do it ,turnkey

Kept the last one we built as didn’t want the 25% HMRC slice taken off me!! And that was was just the share the company had to pay!!
Currently lost all enthusiasm for another development and concentrating on working for clients. Still looking but can’t find any value to be added to what is currently on the market bearing in mind our finance costs!!

 

[V8Druid]

yet more good news for Smarmer's desk

Watchdog extends probe into seven housebuilders suspected of breaching competition law

CMA says investigation will run until May

www.building.co.uk

Market forecast: Prospects for growth in 2025 remain subdued

With capacity depleted, cost pressures have resurfaced as demand has strengthened - but with interest rates set to stay high, slowing demand growth may help smooth the transition

www.building.co.uk

Watchdog keeps digging into house-builders’ collusion

The competition watchdog is seeking further evidence in its investigation into the major house-builders.

www.theconstructionindex.co.uk

" The house-builders whose activities are being investigated are: Barratt, Bellway, Berkeley, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Vistry.

Since the investigation began, Barratt acquired Redrow to become Barratt Redrow, reducing the number of companies under investigation from eight to seven. "

 

[Gunners]

yet more good news for Smarmer's desk

Watchdog extends probe into seven housebuilders suspected of breaching competition law

CMA says investigation will run until May

www.building.co.uk

Market forecast: Prospects for growth in 2025 remain subdued

With capacity depleted, cost pressures have resurfaced as demand has strengthened - but with interest rates set to stay high, slowing demand growth may help smooth the transition

www.building.co.uk

Watchdog keeps digging into house-builders’ collusion

The competition watchdog is seeking further evidence in its investigation into the major house-builders.

www.theconstructionindex.co.uk

" The house-builders whose activities are being investigated are: Barratt, Bellway, Berkeley, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Vistry.

Since the investigation began, Barratt acquired Redrow to become Barratt Redrow, reducing the number of companies under investigation from eight to seven. "

Well Vistry own 3 brands you'd have heard of so its not only 7 of them is it....
And I thought they owned TW too but its actually Taylor Wimpey Construction they own - somehow that doesn't include the housebuilding side....
Bellway have been trying to buy Crest Nickleson for the last couple of years...
Persimmion have been buying other developers for years. They build under Charles Church, and Westbury partnerships too and have been reportedly trying to buy the firm I used to work for, Cala Homes off Legal and General.
And now as stated, Barratt own Redrow...

They all own each other! Apart from Bloor who to be fair to him has kept his stake in the firm right from the beginning and hasn't sold out yet. Richest man in construction apparently. Rory must be close behind him when he weighs in all that scrap in the hedgerow at his place.

 

[V8Druid]

Well Vistry own 3 brands you'd have heard of so its not only 7 of them is it....
And I thought they owned TW too but its actually Taylor Wimpey Construction they own - somehow that doesn't include the housebuilding side....
Bellway have been trying to buy Crest Nickleson for the last couple of years...
Persimmion have been buying other developers for years. They build under Charles Church, and Westbury partnerships too and have been reportedly trying to buy the firm I used to work for, Cala Homes off Legal and General.
And now as stated, Barratt own Redrow...

They all own each other! Apart from Bloor who to be fair to him has kept his stake in the firm right from the beginning and hasn't sold out yet. Richest man in construction apparently. Rory must be close behind him when he weighs in all that scrap in the hedgerow at his place.

dealt with most of them (and a few others) when I was touting my old site around, the first time in '04-'07 .. was a close fought thing at the end 'tween Churchills and McC&S, who eventually pipped them, (TW, weren't far behind 'em TBH) ..... McC&S Southern promptly went tits up several months later in '08's catastrophe of a recession .. kept their deposit though .. possession is 9/10ths, despite threats of legal action from their administrators -- " **** off - see you in court " - never happened

 

[TiltyShaun]

dealt with most of them (and a few others) when I was touting my old site around, the first time in '04-'07 .. was a close fought thing at the end 'tween Churchills and McC&S, who eventually pipped them, (TW, weren't far behind 'em TBH) ..... McC&S Southern promptly went tits up several months later in '08's catastrophe of a recession .. kept their deposit though .. possession is 9/10ths, despite threats of legal action from their administrators -- " **** off - see you in court " - never happened

I worked as a sub contractor to McC&S back in 2000 - 2004. There was always a lot of competition between them and Churchills. There was a link between the 2. John Stone, the stone in McC&S was the related to the 2 directors of Churchills. He was there father!! I seem to remember at some point he got fired and went to Churchill to join the business.

 

[TiltyShaun]

McCarthy & Stone founder quits

JOHN McCarthy, the chairman and joint founder of Britain's biggest retirement homes builder McCarthy & Stone, has quit the company less than a month after his family buyout proposal was rejected by fellow directors.

www.standard.co.uk

 

[V8Druid]

McCarthy & Stone founder quits

JOHN McCarthy, the chairman and joint founder of Britain's biggest retirement homes builder McCarthy & Stone, has quit the company less than a month after his family buyout proposal was rejected by fellow directors.

www.standard.co.uk

I know they were seriously hard work to deal with ... and they reeeeally were not used to dealing directly with an owner who could make instant decisions, or have the balls to call their bluff, on a couple of occasions
but I'd had a lot of practice over the previous few years (and a few cards up my sleeve), which ultimately surprised, if not shocked them

 

[V8Druid]

FFS ....... here we go again - 5750 was bad enough, then ISO 9000 ... now they're looking to record every bloody thing on the planet ... when 5750 was intro.-ed I was told I'd have to serial number every piece of stock then change it every time we cut a piece off it . firmly in the bin that went
now look at this crap - re-using is gonna be immensely expensive

Material passports: the key to carbon reduction, greater component reuse and more sustainable construction

Logging the details of the products and materials used on projects so they can have a second life after demolition has been discussed but never practised on a large London construction project - until now, Thomas Lane reports

www.building.co.uk

 

[V8Druid]

" the expected costs (of remediation for) for all 291 buildings. As a result, the total fire remediation provision at the FY24 year end is expected to be approximately £245m - £255m " and someone is gonna have to foot the bill from their future sales

Crest Nicholson remediation liabilities climb to £250m

House-builder Crest Nicholson has disclosed that its 2024 accounts will show total fire remediation provision of around £250m.

www.theconstructionindex.co.uk

 

[Jimoz]

I’m swaying away from houses as much as possible these days… I love building them, all different and bespoke bits on them, but the legals and nonsense that’s going into them these days is getting beyond worth bothering! I’ll see what the next one brings but I can’t imagine I’m going to be rushing into building another one very quickly!

Lost interest a few years ago. Much to my wallets detriment. I can't get excited about a standard house now. I would gladly get my teeth into a bespoke 1 off for myself but anything with planning is silly money now and not exactly what you want for yourself. I have been sniffing on something but a few obstacles atm. I'm actually thinking are you better off going for something heritage and enjoying owning something which has stood test of time built with great materials. Despite high running and ownership costs.

The new planning rules are stupid. Got to show that by developing a site you will increase the biodiversity. What a joke. Do they want houses or not?! Round here they have set up companies buying up land then selling biodiversity credits. Just another scam