How can we build more homes and make them better?

This is Money Podcast

This is Money

Business News, Business, Investing, News

4.1 • 650 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A row over housebuilding has erupted again.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has said he would bring back a 300,000 annual housebuilding target, after Rishi Sunak scrapped it.

Meanwhile, some backbench Tory MPs are reportedly unhappy about their party ditching that target in the first place – with the number having featured in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto.

At the same time Michael Gove has been cheered in many quarters for blocking a development in Kent, as it was deemed to be poor quality and ugly, but is now being taken to court by developer Berkeley Homes over the decision.

So, what can we do about housebuilding and how do we get ourselves out of this mess – especially as the younger generation are squeezed out by high house prices and rents?

On this podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dig into the myriad problems with UK housebuilding and what can be done to build better homes that people want to buy and have near them.

Is the answer just bringing back targets or is it more complicated than that?
Is not wanting housing developments Nimbyism if there’s a failure to build well and deliver infrastructure?

How can we convince local communities to back new housing?

All this and more come up for debate.

Also on the podcast:

If you are in the fortunate position of being able to buy a home but are worried about falling house prices and locking into high mortgage rates, what should you do?

Sam North, of eToro, joins us for the latest market update, including the reaction to the Fed's latest rate rise.

Will a new crackdown on scams finally stop the fraudsters?

And finally, we said it was coming. The 5 per cent savings rate is back, but should you get one?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to This Is Money podcast. I'm Georgie Frost coming to Jetlag from Singapore and joining me and Simon Labber in London Day is some random Simon just met on the street. Someone called Lee Boyce, I think. I don't know if he's any good, but anyway. Coming up, the Prime Minister scrapped them. His opponent is promising to bring them back. So what is the deal with house building targets? Do they work? And what is up with the industry generally? If you're in the fortunate position to buy, what do you do? Do you wait for either house prices or mortgage rates to fall first or do you just plow on? Also today, the government finally seems to be taking scams seriously. But the
0:39.6	proof, says Lee Boyce, will be in the pudding. Plus, they've only gone and done it. Savings
0:44.8	rates breach 5%. We take a look to what's on offer. Don't forget getting it's up to date. With all the latest
0:50.1	breaking money news, just go to this ismoney.co.uk or download the app.
0:56.4	Don't forget, you can stay on top of what's going on in the markets by tuning in to the
1:00.0	Digest and Invest podcast by Itaro. Go to your regular podcast platform and listen on the go.
1:04.7	Digest and Invest by Itoro, the podcast for those interested in trading and investing.
1:09.3	But first, house building targets.
1:12.0	When she soon acts scrap them, Kirstama is vowing to bring them back.
1:15.9	The Labour leader says he wants to build 300,000 homes a year and boost ownership rate to 70%.
1:21.9	But can he succeed where others have failed in not just numbers but but in quality. It comes as housing secretary
1:29.4	Michael Gove is being taken to court for blocking a development, for being poor quality and ugly.
1:35.4	But first, house building. For years, we've had political pledges on the number of new homes
1:41.0	that will be built, and yet here we are. Some house builders are even
1:44.6	planning to scale back their projects after some poor trading results across the board. An overview,
1:51.2	if you would. What's wrong with house building, Lee, Boyce? Welcome back. Hi, Georgian. Thank you.
1:57.7	I think one of the big problems with house building is there is that issue around
2:04.0	quantity. So this 300,000 targets gets banded around all the time. It's all well and good. But what
2:12.4	about the quality of what's being built? And I think that that's where lie the problem. And then
2:17.2	you have lots of towns where
2:19.6	you could already argue are pretty fulfilled there's a lot of people and a lot of these new builds go up
2:25.7	and does the infrastructure grow with it you know do we get new roads do we get new schools do we get new
	...

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