Tag: The Hendry Solution

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The new 2022 proposals by the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove were good.

The new 2022 Levelling up Bill was a breath of fresh air and would introduce new ways to speed up housebuilding. It would help new homes get built to a better specification, get built in the locations which need such housing, get them built more to the requirement of the local communities that need them and be priced more in-line with the level of affordability within those communities needing them.

Scrapping the previous and much debated Planning White Paper is therefore seen as being a very necessary decision, as this has failed to stimulate the building of the housing that people actually want in the places they want them and at the prices they can realistically afford.

The new White Paper is expected to change all of this.

Among the features in the new Bill will be:

Design codes enabling local communities to set rules about the layout of new developments and the materials which could be used.

A new infrastructure levy determined locally to raise the funds for projects such as schools, hospitals and roads by basing the levy on the value of the property when it is sold instead of as it gets planning permission.

More will be added here about this, as we hear more about it.

For the correct way to deal with the present and escalating housing crisis, you can simply search on The House Price Solution. This explanation is what would restore the housing markets across our land to rude health at long last. Here is the reasoning set out in brief.

I advocate a complete reorganisation of the way in which houses are bought, sold and rented in this country, which is long overdue.

In full response to the ‘lack of supply’ pontificators, whom are rather prevalent currently, the whole rationale or philosophy behind my carefully considered solution for restoring the housing markets around Britain to good health, embraces the wisdoms of bygone days. How so? There was a time when latin was in general parlance and the words: “Caveat Emptor” were in frequent use. The meaning of this should never have been forgotten.

This used to be an express warning which was applied especially where property or real estate was concerned. The words of the warning mean: ‘Let the buyer beware – unless they are covered by the seller’s warranty in terms of quality and worth’. The meaning of this simple latin saying amply describes why the current failures are occurring, manifesting within all housing markets up and down our still great country. 

We should remember this because in actual fact it is the one thing which is required, in order to restore and correct the damaging anomalies surrounding today’s accelerating house prices. As explained, these anomalies arise from our having departed from and forgotten what were previously well-known and established wisdoms, to be relied upon whenever undertaking commercial transactions such as those involving the buying of houses for family use.

The problem of unaffordable house prices today simply isn’t a supply-side matter at all. It is a price-side problem not a supply-side one. A-level students studying economics ought to know this! Once this is understood, the requisite changes to the way in which our housing markets operate across the whole country may be realised so that they may, once again become normality. Central government necessarily would need to take a lead in resolving this current-day house price crisis of course.

In the local area where I live for example, there are clearly more than a sufficient number of houses that certainly could be used to satisfy both present and future demand for residential housing but they are not coming onto the market. Instead they are being used for non-residential uses. It is this that needs addressing most urgently, not the headlong rush to build more houses to satisfy a purely notional lack of supply when in fact, there is a more than adequate supply of suitable property both in our locality and in plenty of other locations all over the place!

Please consider what is being explained here and raise any relevant questions on this for public scrutiny and discussion. A campaign ought to be mounted to bring this matter to the attention of our government should those interested in this wish that to happen.

The right formula for such a reorganisation is what now needs to be fully debated and once arrived at I am confident that the formula for change would embrace much of what I am presenting and is not only worthy of full scrutiny but is a correct formula for the necessary change and is overdue for adoption.

The explanation of how to peg accelerating house prices as well as delivering all the other housing market improvements desperately needed starts here. You can read all about these fresh new proposals at the following link:

The House Price Solution

How to Improve all local housing markets in England and Wales

Anybody who agrees with what is presented here should go and challenge their local MP asking them to properly examine this and get it fully and properly debated in The House of Commons without further delay.

Posted by: Peter Hendry, Housing Valuation Consultant
Author of:– The House Price Solution otherwise known as The Hendry Solution.

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Are estate agents taking us for fools?

The continuing rise in house prices during and following COVID clearly show that the following proposals for re-shaping house-marketing are fully justified and long overdue.

The severe reduction in the number of sellers putting their houses on the market is a clear indication of their concern for not being able to successfully move house, owing to the unexpectedly rising house prices!

The explanation of how to resolve accelerating house prices begins here. Read all about these fresh new proposals at the following link:

The House Price Solution

How to Improve all local housing markets in England and Wales

Posted by: Peter Hendry, Housing Valuation Consultant
Author of:– The House Price Solution otherwise known as The Hendry Solution.

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Why are house prices still rising despite the downturn?

On the thorny subject of house prices, what we have right now are house prices still rising despite the economic downturn which is following the Covid 19 pandemic.

Why is this?
The reasons are actually straightforward but the current upward trajectory is not good news for those who need financial help to become home-owners in the future.

Research from Savills released in March 2021, estimates that the UK’s housing stock became worth £7.56 trillion – more than four times the value of the FTSE 100 index on the London Stock Exchange. These are seriously head-turning economic statistics!

What is particularly interesting, are the recent stats which explain that the value of mortgaged owner-occupied homes currently is only about £2.5 trillion, whereas there is £5.0 trillion worth of UK property which is owned completely mortgage-free. In other words this is twice as much as the value of today’s homes being purchased with a mortgage.

This would suggest that the main driver of the present government’s policy, is to continue to encourage capital growth in the housing sector. Such capital value increases obviously favour those who already have substantial property assets however, of course, the converse must therefore be true. These same policies can thus only hinder first-time buyers’ ability to become owners, as their purchasing ability is dependent upon and geared to earnings not capital values.

Polly Neate, the CEO of Shelter, is reported to be saying there is a “desperate shortage” of actually affordable homes for people on low incomes.

It’s simply no good putting up with what there is, or just continuing in exactly the same way as before.
We all have to change for the better. We should do this by treating first time buyers just the way we would like to be treated ourselves, even if we own houses outright. Houses are roofs over peoples’ heads rather than capital assets expected to appreciate in value before all else!

The House Price Solution has come up with the best possible new policy for the whole of the housing sector and for stabilising house prices within it.

In a nutshell the new policy is this:
Firstly, Neighbourhood Development Plans (or NDPs), which are readily available planning tools, should be adopted across the whole country and they ought to include similar purchasing restrictions to those which have more recently been enshrined in the St Ives, Cornwall Area NDP, the H2 policies.

These are to allow local earners a better chance to become local owners and to buy (rather than continue to rent) their principal residences.
As long as there are numbers of local earners who are not becoming mortgagor/owners, these people ought to be considered in preference to those simply having greater wealth and wishing to move to a new location of their choice.

The effect of this policy would be to help retain local communities functionally intact.
The alternative, which we have seen all too much of recently, is allowing whole areas to become ghost towns, owned by richer buyers from further afield. Allowing this destroys local communities of course.

One may easily understand that the present property-owning statistics demonstrate that a new policy is needed if we are to protect local individuality and preserve communities from societal desecration i.e. suffer the same fate that has befallen high streets up and down the country having become clones of one another lacking individuality over time. Specifically, I mean that we should save the character and cohesion of localities, from outside influences such as from those simply hoping to buy into a location just to gain an additional property investment for themselves.

BUT, something more than this is required if we are to stabilise the accelerating rise in house-prices and instead make way for a fairer and more inclusive house-price environment.
What is also required is a much better way to determine house prices themselves and it is this idea which I now put forward, naming it The House Price Solution.

In essence it is all about how to market houses in a way that can balance-out the different offers from competing buyers fairly and more equitably, resulting in a better marketplace for all those wishing to buy their next homes to live in.
It involves changing the way in which houses have traditionally been sold using vendor-led estate agency, to having new buyer-orientated agencies instead. Many of those who are employed in vendor-led estate agency practices currently could fairly easily get re-trained and become registered as buyer-advising agents.

These agents would handle incoming offers in a very different way by acting for and liaising with the different buyers. Sellers would be less able to influence the prices that are achieved because offers would be received directly from the buyers competing with one another, to the relevant buyers’ agents. These offers would be passed to the appropriate vendors by their own buying agents and this would allow house prices themselves to stabilise across the various different regions of the country. The mechanism by which this could happen would be by all offers becoming primarily dependent upon local buyers’ offer-price levels.

Only houses which are exempt from the H2 residence restrictions would be available for purchase by wealthier buyers from the rest of the country, these being outside the scope of these policies.

The above would help the success rate of individual housing transactions themselves, causing a general improvement in the number of house sales able to be made.

In peacetime (i.e. whilst our country is not at war with another), residential planning consents should be delegated to all local town or parish councils for them to determine, depending upon local housing need.

This way, genuinely democratic decisions may be arrived at using local decision-makers whom are best able to understand what the current needs of the community are at any particular time. 

The different local housing markets could be brought to balance and price levels better able to reflect local demand for housing, more appropriately.

The other necessary change would involve making housing markets operate more efficiently than currently happens, by requiring estate agents to work for buyers rather than being able to work for both buyers and sellers as happens currently.

As a retired residential property valuer I remain convinced that if democratically elected local councillors were to be granted full authority to decide local residential planning applications, the effect of this could resolve the whole housing crisis.

Decisions made by such elected representatives would not be based upon NIMBYism ‘Not In My Back Yard’; quite the contrary!

Instead it would be a question of ‘IN My Back Yard’, as these councillors would be representing the wishes and needs of the local community – not simply trying to resist necessary change!

There could be no finer outcome than this, especially where residential property is concerned, because with this solution these councillors could work to actually resolve the housing crisis which we are now all being affected by, particularly owing to its increasing severity.

As explained, the goal of preserving local communities by providing sufficient and affordable homes up and down the country, whilst still allowing a smaller number of the wealthier buyers to integrate, could be achieved. Better price stability within all UK housing markets also would be the clear result.

Resource links:
Savills:

https://www.twindig.com/market-views/houselungo-210321#slice

Shelter’s impact and activities:

https://england.shelter.org.uk/what_we_do/our_impact

What do you think about this idea for drastically improving the operation of all housing markets potentially across the whole of Britain?

Constructive comments are very much welcomed.

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How much would you need to save a month to buy a house within 10 years?

Well in theory right now, if you were to make contributions of £200 a month into a stocks and shares Isa, (i.e. put aside earnings of £2,400 p.a.) and you aimed for a realistic yearly return of 4pc after fees, you’d reach your goal of £40,000 in nine years.
If your partner did the same, this could be £80,000.

In addition, if house prices were to fall over the same period, you could suddenly find yourself just about poised and ready to buy a place to start owner occupation in.
Unfortunately, there are quite a few ‘ifs’ in this scenario aren’t there.

The main obstacle to achieving such a dream for an increasing number of aspiring buyers is house prices themselves which, even at the lower end of the house-ownership spectrum, are out of reach for many would-be owner occupiers. This obstacle could however be removed using relatively straightforward improvements in the way that residential properties are marketed.

The present ‘government’ idea of trying to get prices to start reducing is to build many more housing units.
Unfortunately, this idea is fundamentally flawed. The reason is the effect of doing this would be marginal on price. Why?
Because unless upwards of 10% of the total number of existing houses in the system were to be constructed, little or no effect on house-prices themselves would actually be felt.

If you do the maths it becomes clear that it would be impossible to build enough new houses, even over a full ten-year stretch. The calculation tells you it would take building in excess of ten times the number of new units currently able to be built each and every year for at least the next ten years!

By deduction therefore, instead of attempting to do the impossible it would be better to look at the current methods of marketing all residential properties and change that. The sales and marketing of residential property the one thing that is highly inefficient, old fashioned and in need of significant improvement. This is the key to achieving the desired result – greater owner-occupation.

Reform the way privately owned residential properties or houses are bought and sold and you will make the process open, fair, and efficient.

Doing this would bring the prices of starter homes back within the reach of first-time buyers and they would no longer have to borrow the increasingly ridiculous amounts which are currently stopping the majority of those wishing to become owner-occupiers to do so.

What do you think about this idea for drastically improving the operation of all housing markets potentially across the whole of Britain?

Constructive comments are very much welcomed.

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Intro to: The House Price Solution – the key to fairer house prices

The Independent newspaper recently published in its online version with the headline:
“More than 8 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes, the report says.”
If accurate, this predicament is unacceptable and in urgent need of remedying with the help of our government.

There have been many claims of similar housing crises over past decades in the media. These claims suggest that all is very far from well in the housing sector. as the old adage goes; there’s no smoke without fire!

This is why over decades past and as I’m now a retired valuation surveyor, I have views on the reasons for these failings, particularly as they adversely affect poorer communities.

Because of this I’ve devised a new and better way to deal with the currently unaffordable level of house prices and associated housing issues because purchase prices currently being claimed as being ‘affordable’ are very clearly not really affordable at all.

Once you take a look into this, it should become crystal clear that it is the poorer buyers whom are actually propping up the house prices for the rest of the home owners!

Why is this so? Because it is they who must borrow astronomical sums of money (to them), by mortgaging the very properties which they need to live in, so that the present very high prices prevailing in a so-called open marketplace may be maintained. One has to ask, who gains most from them doing this?

Firstly, it is those fortunate enough to already have substantial property assets and who enjoy a healthy and almost guaranteed rise in the capital values of their relatively extensive holdings. Secondly, it is the banks and financial organisations that gain from earning interest on the substantial loans which they can thus arrange. Profits derived from these activities depend on the ability of those on this side of the equation to be able to liquidate these large financial rewards each time they sell these assets, without having to do much to earn the extremely large profits involved.

Borrowers today by comparison, have increasing job insecurity issues, especially borrowers on the lower rungs of the property ladder who have to commit to high mortgages by taking on burdensome and increasingly risky and long-term borrowings. These families and individuals are the ones who need relief, by way of a lessening of their large and onerous borrowing commitments they are being forced into making.

It is time the whole rigged house-selling regime, which is being played out using the historic role of estate agency, is re-balanced, such that those wishing to make money from owning property are seen as causing excessive un-affordability issues being experienced by an increasing number of poorer, aspiring to become, home owners in this country.
Is there a political party in the land that might contemplate such a re-think? Let’s hope so.

Those requiring housing should rightly expect to depend upon an efficient and fully functional housing marketplace in order to move house and should expect be able to reasonably afford to buy, or alternatively rent, their next housing accommodation.

Judging by the recent dramatic slowdown of sales transactions as shown in the current sales completion statistics, efficient agency services are simply not available at present.

For anyone interested in the best and only way to correct this unacceptable shortcoming, please read, mark and digest the proposals within: The House Price Solution starting at the following link.

The House Price Solution (otherwise known as The Hendry Solution)

How to Improve the Housing Markets in England and Wales.
The background of this, leading to the logically deduced conclusion arrived at, starts at the following link:

Home Page – improvethehousingmarket.co.uk

As author I would be happy to engage in online discussions about the technicalities and/or the new strategies necessary in order to reach perfection in the operation of all local housing markets in England and Wales. This web site sets out how these housing markets may be improved for the benefit of owner-occupiers, private tenants and in fact, everyone using all forms of housing everywhere in our country.

What do you think about this idea for drastically improving the operation of all housing markets potentially across the whole of Britain?

Constructive comments are very much welcomed.