'Positive signs' in house building industry
18th Jun 2012
There are currently plenty of signs in the UK house building industry that conditions are about to improve, which will help to bolster the property sector, it has been claimed.
Steve Turner, head of communications at the Home Builders Federation, said there are some positive initiatives, such as NewBuy, which are helping to address the mortgage situation.
He acknowledged that there is still "a long way to go", but noted that NewBuy's strategy is "certainly" a step in the right direction.
"If that can deliver the tens of thousands of sales over the next couple of years that we hope it will, then clearly that is going to have an impact," he explained.
Mr Turner said he is hopeful the UK will see more lending come through from the banks.
"With the planning system established, we have got some certainty and now we have got to just see how local authorities interpret it. While it is still a challenging environment, what we see is very cautious optimism," he added.
His comments followed the publication of new house building figures, which shows that there were widespread falls in the price of new homes across all regions in the year up to April 2012, compared to the previous 12-month period.
Posted by Staff Writer: Robin Stenson
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