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RICS launches independent inquiry on property valuation in the UK

The independently chaired commission will take evidence from a range of organisations working across the property sector including banks, building societies, insurers, panel managers, property valuers and their clients. RICS will also be submitting evidence to the inquiry.

An independent report will be produced based on the evidence with recommendations for all parties to help address the balance of risk and reward and maintain high standards in valuation which is a vital professional service that underpins underpinning economic stability and consumer confidence.
 
‘RICS has been engaging with a number of lenders, panel managers and the Council of Mortgage Lenders on these issues, and is working with these parts of the industry to overcome any short term issues. We will continue these discussions in parallel to the work of the independent commission,’ a spokesman said.

With housing at the top of the agenda, the first RICS National Residential Conference, held in London yesterday (Tuesday 16 July) gave an insight on housing supply, new industry regulation in the residential market and where the surveying profession is headed.

The conference was a full day of events and speakers, including Mark Prisk the housing minister who gave the keynote speech, Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director, Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, and Ian Potter, managing director of the Association of Residential Letting Agents.

Topics included policy priorities and government growth initiatives, regulation, planning, housing delivery and the increased use of innovative forms of construction for residential properties.

Prisk told the meeting that the pace of housing development has, for many years, been far too bureaucratic and slow in the UK and the cost has helped drive up prices and rents.

He said efforts by the current government to shake things up are having an effect. He explained that the reforms to the planning system via the new National Planning Policy Framework are showing early signs of being positive with the latest figures showing a 20% rise in the number of new homes granted planning permission.

‘Indeed the net addition to the housing stock overall has seen an 11% rise, the best in four years,’ added Prisk.

He also explained how the unlocking of development sites stuck in the system is also progressing with the £474 million Local Infrastructure Fund,  making ‘excellent’ progress, with over 45,000 homes unlocked, on five different sites.

Prisk said a good example is Cranbrook, near Exeter which is the first new settlement of its kind to be built in Devon, for 600 years. ‘We have provided a £20 million recoverable loan which means the whole development can proceed, the homes along with the schools, the town centre, the shops and the workplaces. The roads will be built alongside the new railway station, thus ensuring that we are developing a real community and not an anonymous housing estate,’  Prisk told the conference, adding that there are another 14 schemes currently in hand with the potential to deliver another 35,000 homes.

Prisk also said that the government’s flagship Help to Buy equity loan scheme is also progressing well and proving very popular. ‘In its first 12 weeks, since being launched, just shy of 7,000 reservations have been made. And with over 400 house builders signed up and most of the major lenders on board, it’s clear that Help to Buy is living up to its name,’ he pointed out.

He added that over the last few weeks many major builders have said that Help to Buy has boosted their sales but he said it was now up to them, the builders to explain what they are going to do to speed up their building rates.

‘I will therefore be inviting the leading builders to meet with me so they can tell me how they intend to turn this new demand into more homes. It’s time they raised their game. They tell me that’s what they want to do. Let’s make that happen,’ he added.

 

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