2009 RICS European Housing Review

Citation

(2009), "2009 RICS European Housing Review", Structural Survey, Vol. 27 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2009.11027dae.001

2009 RICS European Housing Review

Article Type: Recent publications From: Structural Survey, Volume 27, Issue 4

The 2009 RICS European Housing Review has recently been launched. This review, which has been produced annually since 1999, provides a detailed analysis of the latest developments in housing markets across Europe, looking at the structure of housing markets, developments in the mortgage markets, housing supply and demographic influences. Key messages in the 2009 review are:

• •

  house prices are static or falling across all of Europe;

• •

  the chances of core European housing markets escaping marked downturns in 2009 are now slim;

• •

  house prices fell significantly in 2008 in Central and Eastern Europe, Ireland, France, UK and among the Nordic countries;

• •

  all Europe’s housing markets are experiencing rapidly falling demand and too much supply, due to the impact of the credit crunch and recessions in Europe’s major economies; and

• •

  new build markets in the major cities of Central and Eastern Europe are at a standstill, with a rising tide of unsold dwellings.

The full report and executive summary (available in English, French, German and Italian) are available at: www.rics.org/ehr

Property professionals essential players in the UK economy

HM Treasury Professional Services Global Competitiveness Group has recently published a report stating that the high ethical standards and professional competence of Chartered Surveyors are a vital element in the future competitiveness of UK PLC. The group, commissioned by HM Treasury – has concluded that the strong, global reputation of UK property professionals will not only play a vital role in ensuring that the UK economy emerges successfully from the current downturn, but will also be essential to sustained prosperity in the longer term. Among the Group’s findings and recommendations for the land, property and construction sector are:

• •

  The Group recommends that the Government work with RICS to promote UK professionalism in the field of international valuation standards as best practice, in the interests of future global financial stability.

• •

  The planning system would benefit from more, and better qualified, recognised and rewarded planners in local government. Increasing the number of planning-related university courses and bringing experienced planning officers back from the private sector would help.

• •

  There is a strong need to develop better understanding of the value of professional, strategic asset management among businesses, for example by including a property element in business education.

The report is available to download from www.rics.org

Survey of English Housing 2007-2008

This report presents some preliminary findings from 15,622 households that were interviewed for the Survey of English Housing in the year beginning April 2007. It also contains some analysis of housing data from the 2008 Labour Force Survey. Owner occupation remains by far the most common form of housing tenure in England and there were an estimated 14.6 million owner occupiers in 2008, down slightly from 14.7 million in 2007. But whereas, from 2000 to 2006, owner occupation had accounted for just over 70 per cent of households in England, its share in 2008 was slightly lower at 68.3 per cent. Much of the decline in the proportion of owner occupiers may be attributed to an increase in the size of the private rented sector, from 2.7 million in 2007 to nearly 3.0 million in 2008. Private renting accounted for 13.9 per cent of all households, its biggest share since the 1970s. The proportion of younger households (those aged under 30) with a mortgage fell from 40 per cent in 2001 to 32 per cent in 2008; whilst over the same period the proportion of younger households in private renting rose from 33 per cent to 45 per cent. In 2008, nine per cent of all households in England were ethnic minority households. Only seven per cent of Indian households were social renters but 49 per cent of Bangladeshi households lived in social housing. Seventy per cent of white households were owner occupiers compared to 50 per cent of ethnic minority households. 13 per cent of households with a mortgage reported that at some time in the previous 12 months they had been in arrears or had experienced some other difficulty in paying the mortgage. For certain household groups, over 30 per cent reported arrears or difficulties. These groups were: unemployed households, those with at least one sick or disabled member, and those who had previously been repossessed. There were around 565,000 overcrowded households in England – about 2.7 per cent of all households. London was the region with the highest overall rate of overcrowding (6.8 per cent); it also had the highest of regional rates for individual tenures: 3.0 per cent of owner occupiers; 12.7 per cent of social renters and 9.8 per cent of private renters in London were overcrowded. This publication is only available online from: www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/pdf/1133551.pdf

A Children’s Environmental Health Strategy for the UK

The Health Protection Agency has published a strategy to improve the health and well-being of children in the UK by changing the environment in which they live. The Agency was commissioned to write the report – A Children’s Environmental Health Strategy for the United Kingdom – by the Department of Health. The report is part of the UK’s response to a World Health Organization environment and health initiative aimed at improving the health and well-being of children and young people throughout Europe.

The strategy recommends:

• •

  steps are taken to reduce skin damage from ultraviolet light and child hospital admissions due to accidental poisonings;

• •

  a review of reporting systems for congenital abnormalities is undertaken to identify means of improving them further;

• •

  measures are taken to ensure children and young people have easy and safe access to well-maintained green open spaces;

• •

  a more coordinated approach is taken to preventing injuries;

• •

  action is taken to continue to improve hygiene and drinking water availability in schools; and

• •

  further research into lead in drinking water supplies, and other sources, to ensure exposure to lead is as low as possible.

The strategy proposes that issues such as inequalities and mental health are considered when implementing the recommendations. It also proposes that its recommendations work in conjunction with other Government policies and initiatives to ensure a coordinated approach to implementation. A copy of the report can be viewed at: www.hpa.org.uk/cehape/

RICS new rules of measurement

The RICS new rules of measurement are a suite of documents issued by the RICS Quantity Surveying and Construction Professional Group. The rules have been written to provide a standard set of measurement rules that are understandable by all those involved in a construction project. They provide advice and best practice guidance to RICS members involved in the cost management of construction projects worldwide. This volume, the RICS new rules of measurement: Order of cost estimating and elemental cost planning, provides fundamental guidance on the quantification of building works for the purpose of preparing cost estimates and cost plans. Direction on how to quantify other items forming part of the cost of a construction project, but which are not reflected in the measurable building work items, is also provided – i.e. preliminaries, overheads and profit, project team and design team fees, risk allowances, inflation, and other development and project costs. Although written primarily for the preparation of order of cost estimates and cost plans, the rules will be invaluable when preparing approximate estimates. In addition, the rules can be used as a basis for capturing historical cost data in the form required for order of cost estimates and elemental cost plans, thereby completing the “cost management cycle”. These rules provide essential guidance to all those involved in, as well as those who wish to be better informed about, the cost management of construction projects. The RICS new rules of measurement are based on UK practice but the requirements for a coordinated set of rules and underlying philosophy behind each section have worldwide application. Published by RICS Books in paperback and priced at £45.00.

The RICS Building Control Essential Cards

These have been produced by the RICS Building Control Professional Group in conjunction with the Building Control Training Academy. The Professional Group identified an opportunity to re-design and re-write the cards, bringing them up-to-date and making them more relevant to the property professionals. The full set includes 20 cards that can be used as quick reference to particular building regulations and have been – designed as pocket sized for easy use whilst on site. Complimentary hard copy sets of the cards have been made available to all members of the RICS Building Control Professional Group. The Essential Cards are also available to download from the RICS website. There are cards for Part B – Dwellinghouses; Part B – Galleries; Part B – Buildings Other Than Dwellinghouses; Part F – Ventilation; Part M – Unisex Wheelchair; Part M – Internal Stairs; Part L – Dwellings; Part H – Drainage; Part M – Dwelling WC Provision; Part M – Dwelling Circulation; Part B – Loft Conversions; Part A – Differences In Ground Level; Part A – Floors; Part A – Roofs; Part A – Foundations; Part P – Work That Need Not Be Notified; Part E – Walls; Part E – Floor With Independent Ceiling; Part E – Platform Floor; Part E – Stairs and Service.