Lack of land and lending is blocking new homes

A lack of available small sites and a lack of finance top the list of barriers to SME house builders increasing their delivery of new homes, according to new research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Key results from the FMB’s House Builders’ Survey 2017, include:
• Over half of small house builders (54%) say accessing finance is a major barrier to their ability to build more homes (up from 50% in 2016)
• A lack of available and viable land is the most commonly cited barrier (62%) to increasing output and 54% believe that the number of small opportunities for small site development are decreasing
• 42% of SME house builders said that a shortage of skilled workers is a major barrier to their ability to build more new homes, and this rises to half (49%) when asked to look ahead over the next three years
• One in three small house builders that employ EU workers believe the end of free movement will be a major constraint on their ability to build more homes
• Half (49%) of SME builders view the planning system as a major constraint on their ability to grow and ‘inadequate resourcing of planning departments’ was again rated as the most significant cause of delay in the planning application process
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “Almost a decade after the financial crisis, access to finance for small house builders is getting worse instead of better. The results of the FMB House Builders’ Survey suggest a slight worsening in the problems these firms face in accessing the finance they need to build.
“Assessments of lending conditions to SME developers were down slightly from 2016, the first fall in this measure since 2013.
“Small house builders express generally positive views of some recent government initiatives in this area, such as the Home Building Fund, but we clearly need to double down on these efforts to make sure that SMEs have access to the finance they need to build Britain out of its housing crisis.”
The survey comes on the back of the draft London Housing Strategy, which the FMB believes will help solve the housing crisis by opening up the market to SME house builders, because of its focus on small sites.
Barry Mortimer, director of FMB London, said: “If we’re to build the number of new homes Londoners need, we must urgently make much better use of the many existing small sites that are dotted all over London. In doing so, we will the strengthen the capacity of SME house builders to build more new homes and perhaps even attract some new SME firms into the market.
“FMB research has consistently shown that a lack of available and viable land is the main factor stunting the ability of small builders to deliver more homes. Indeed, over half of SME house builders believe that the number of small site opportunities is, if anything, decreasing.”
The FMB survey also highlighted the concerns expressed by SME’s regarding skills shortages.
“If we get it wrong, Brexit and the end of free movement could further exacerbate the skills shortages we already have,” Brian said. “The survey finds one third of SME house builders currently employ EU workers and this rises to 70% in London and the south east. The potential impact of post-Brexit immigration changes is therefore a cause for concern among small house builders.
“That’s why it’s so important that the government introduces a transitionary period that allows the UK house building sector to gradually wean itself off high levels of EU labour.”