Paul Reade’s Post

Housing starts, a measure of projects started on new homes and multi-family homes, rose 3% in June vs the May estimate Additionally, Building Permits, a measure of future projects, also increased more than 3% against the May estimate. However... both are down YoY. Upwards trends are nice, but at the end of the there's still a massive housing shortage. #goodluckhavefunyall #housing

How Modular Homes Contribute to Affordable Housing in Ireland.

“A report from the cross-sector network estimates that building a new home costs more than £250,000, which is higher than local house prices in some areas The cost of building a new home in 60 local authority areas in the UK is almost equal to or higher than its market value, a new Housing Forum report has revealed. Construction costs for an average-sized three-bedroom semi-detached house in “the easiest possible setting” are estimated at £133,000” #ukhousing #housebuilding #socialhousing #affordablehousing https://lnkd.in/eW7PgvXD

“A new report by The Housing Forum answers the all-important question: How much does it cost to build a house? The Housing Forum, is a cross-sector body for the construction and housing sector and became aware of concern across the sector about the rising costs of building new homes. The high inflation seen over the last few years has had a particularly severe effect on construction and is having a long-term impact on costs, with delays and uncertainty in the planning system exacerbating the issue.” #ukhousing #housebuilding #socialhousing #affordablehousing https://lnkd.in/exEQ9kjM

Modular construction There are many parallels with this NYT article as HK pushes to increase the adoption of MiC, from regulation, through designing beautiful modular homes, to production-at-scale. (behind the NYT paywall) https://lnkd.in/gPxZq8qJ #MiC #projectmanagement #DfMA

Pretty much across the board, I support the new intensification rules. I think that both the Council and the IHP have considered these matters carefully and made recommendations that will be beneficial for the long term growth of the City and wider Region. I was a little disappointed to see a tied vote on Resolution 65 (Central City walkable catchment)...but think that subsequent amendments to the original recommendations by the IHP confused Councillors and that this should have been split into four separate proposals. Status quo remains...but hoping that this will be revisited. However, don't expect anyone to start building 10-story apartment buildings in Hornby, Riccarton or Papanui andy time soon. These new rules enable greater development...but it is the market that determines what gets built and where. Building houses is a business. Builders and developers only build what they think they can sell. Rules that make it easier, cheaper and faster to build are welcomed...but these are enablers...not compulsary.

For the first time in 17 months, building consent numbers have increased*. As you can see from the table below, the trend of declining numbers has slowed significantly from January, and August saw an increase of 3%. I'm not suggesting that the residential construction sector has recovered...but that we are either at or very close to the bottom of the current downturn. I'm aware that this is not the case for most of the rest of New Zealand. I believe that Canterbury is better placed than many other Regions to recover quickly. The underlying economy is positive and strong population growth over the past couple of years (most particularly Selwyn) will ensure a strong demand for new housing going forward. I expect that the remainder of this year will continue to be flat...but that 2025, 2026 and beyond are looking great.

What are the most important aspects of a new housing build? How much storage space should houses have? What size does the kitchen need to be? What level of accessibility is required? Help us answer these questions and more! Cape Breton Regional Municipality is launching the exciting Pre-Approved Housing Design Initiative with an online survey to better understand housing needs and the housing options that will best suit our communities. The main aim of the Pre-Approved Housing Design Initiative is to help address the housing crisis by providing ready-to-go home plans that can be used by individuals and builders free of charge. This will help cut red tape, lower costs, and diversify housing options. We want your input, whether you are a renter, developer, property owner, property manager, or resident! The results from this survey will be used to help inform the development of the housing designs and ensure they are rooted in the needs, priorities and preferences of CBRM residents. Time to complete the online survey: approximately 10-15 minutes Survey is open until Sunday, August 18th. Link to the online survey: https://lnkd.in/e_TDFHyQ

In the aftermath of the recent draft housing target announcements, there seems to be a widespread misunderstanding of how the planning system interacts with the market factors that influence whether housing is built. It is naive to claim that taking two years to make a decision or cutting off two storeys from a housing project has little influence on the decision to act on a planning approval. What use is permit approval when a project cannot happen without losing money or facing higher risks due to razor-thin margins? The cost of finance, in part, comes from the uncertainty of the planning system. Why would you help finance a 6-storey apartment build if you think there's a chance that it might only end up as a 4-storey? The construction costs, in part, are due to the low productivity of construction firms. Why is that? Because overly strict land use regulations lower construction firm size, limiting the incentives to invest in innovative technologies: https://lnkd.in/g6e3MX5i Surely the planning system can't influence the speed of construction? After Auckland upzoned housing construction suddenly outstripped population growth! https://lnkd.in/gZUW8krr Planning controls, like aggressive upper-level setbacks, can make buildings more expensive while lowering the yield. This compounds the issues around getting a project to stack up. Can planning reform fix all these issues? Absolutely not. But it will absolutely help. We must stop the buck-passing and fully reform the whole housing system to achieve housing abundance.

🚨 The Government's target is 1.2 million homes built across Australia over 5 years, starting July 2024. But at this rate, we'll only reach 820,000! 😱 Let's break it down: 🔍 If it's the Council, Developers, Abandoned Sites, Labour, and Productivity's fault: 👩💼 Council needs to work faster and approve more 🏗 Developers need to build more 🏢 We need to build on available inner-city sites 👨🔧 We need more new skilled tradespeople What do we do? Is it that simple? How do we fix this? 🤔 The MBA says we're falling short already. Only 164,000 houses were approved by May 2024, far from the 240,000 needed annually. They added to the list: 👩⚖️ Industrial relations laws 🛣 Lack of critical infrastructure 💲 Higher developer taxes and charges 💳 Licensing delays https://lnkd.in/ehKy9N-V We need the brilliant minds on this platform to help the government. I call on all of you, on behalf of our Government, to step up and contribute! 🙏 Let's brainstorm and find solutions together. Your insights and experiences are invaluable! 💡 What steps do you think we can take immediately to address these issues? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #powerofthepeople #Construction #takeactionnow #NSWConstruction #morehousingnow #buildingfutures