Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), commented on the latest lending trends: “After a brief cooldown in November, residential purchase lending picked up again in December. Over the past 12 months purchase lending has increased across... View Article

Central Government must prevent local authorities from hindering SME developers with unfair Council Tax burdens, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned ahead of the Budget Statement. Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “If the Government is... View Article

The monthly output figures published by the ONS revealed that comparing the annual 2015 data with 2014, output in the construction industry was estimated to have increased by 3.4 per cent. Michael Thirkettle, Chief Executive of leading interdisciplinary international construction and... View Article

The Lyons Commission has released an independent review underlining five key actions to deliver the increase in house building to tackle the nation’s housing challenges. The report highlighted the drastic need for more subsidised affordable and private-rented homes and welcomed the priority government... View Article

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), comments: “An increase in new property listings is a step in the right direction, but after more than a year of falling supply will do little to quell rising house... View Article

BSRIA has welcomed the announcement of a government-led major review of the construction labour market in a bid to reform the sector and enable it to power economic growth and solve the housing crisis. The review will include a full public consultation and... View Article

Commenting on the industry slowdown, The Vinden Partnership react to January’s Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index. Martin Bennett, a Regional Director at The Vinden Partnership – a leading multi-disciplinary consultant company to the built environment, commented: “The slowdown in... View Article

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) announced 2015 a successful year for borrowers as the number of mortgage approvals grew to nearly reach a two-year high in December. He said: “Existing homeowners were the frontrunners in this... View Article

Courts in England and Wales will be required to follow comprehensive sentencing guidelines when prosecuting companies and public bodies in breach of health and safety legislation from 1st February 2016. Neal Stone, Policy and Standards Director at the British Safety... View Article

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has urged reform of the plans which will see the government add a 3 per cent surcharge on Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) proposals for second properties. The CML view is that even without... View Article

The latest House Price Index showed the cost of the average home in England and Wales rose by over 6 per cent, with a 1.2 per cent cost jump from November. However, the number of properties sold for over £1 million and £2 million dropped by... View Article

Local authorities are blocking smaller businesses from competing for public sector contracts, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned, in the light of new research from the Electrical Contractors’ Association that shows over two thirds of councils are neglecting... View Article

The ONS reported the UK gross domestic product has risen by 0.5 per cent. Within this, construction output was marginally weaker, by 0.1 per cent, its second consecutive quarterly fall following the third quarter’s 1.9 per cent decline. Professor Noble Francis, Economics Director... View Article