Radical politics trump economics
The coalition government’s radical localist agenda, and its radical planning proposals, appear to leave limited room for economic or market considerations. Home builders will have to put the economic case for housing supply very forcefully, says John Stewart
Welcome and good luck
The coalition policies will be those we have been expecting for some time
Who's laughing now?
A few weeks ago the Lib Dems were the butt of industry jokes over their irrelevance to the housing debate. Now they could be driving through anti-developer policies with their new best friends, the Tories. So who's laughing now?
Volatility returns
It seems the housebuilding industry has entered a new period of instability although it can hardly be blamed for the general election and an erupting volcano. Against this backdrop, Steve Menary looks at the latest activity of the City players
Is the recession good for the construction industry?
Richard Jones of EC Harris takes to the debating chamber in Cambridge to argue that the recession has stifled innovation and productivity, not enhanced it
An industry delivering for its customers
HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley admits he was concerned about the impact of recession on industry customer satisfaction. He need not have worried. The results of the HBF annual customer satisfaction survey are outstanding
Zero free lunches
The current zero carbon definition can only be delivered at an unnecessarily high economic cost. It should be changed, and quickly, says John Stewart
A report too good to be lost in the election hiatus
Professor Ball argues that this is a time of opportunity and that the situation can be improved by “a variety of relatively small changes”
Executive memo
The wrecking ball that ploughed so violently through the housebuilding industry certainly appears to have stopped swinging but its gruesome spectre still lingers in the scarred memories of executives. Steve Menary looks at the latest batch of City results
An industry at the crossroads
Richard Jones of EC Harris says that the influence of the public sector on new housing will soon wane and once again attention will turn to the private sector to build the homes we need. But how that will be done is still to be determined
