There is current increasing interest in the application of the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Feed in Tariff (FIT) scheme to tackle fuel poverty in Housing Associations. THFC is currently investigating whether it can put together a wholesale funding package for such schemes. In the meantime we have been funding a number of regeneration projects using long term EIB funds which incorporate energy saving features in both construction and design. We visited one of the very best of these, Mariners Quay, in Newport Old Town Docks last week, being developed by Seren Housing. This large scale Eco Grade 5 scheme has just been awarded a Zero Carbon Award. Read on and be impressed!

Continue reading Carbon Neutral Housing

If you are hellbent on expansion, read on. If not, then it might be safer to stay in the bunker with your helmet on…

The phrase of the moment is credit crunch. But what does it really mean when you are in the middle of trying to put together a property deal? Simply, all parties have more hoops to jump through in order to get to the deal done. Despite what the papers say, doing deals is still possible!

Continue reading The credit crunch bunch – saving property deals!

by Piers Williamson

Developing Housing Associations are capital intensive businesses. You carry substantial financing, refinancing and liquidity risk. A bit like banks you transform cash into very illiquid assets (in the case of HAs, we hope the valuations hold up a bit better than the banks have seen in recent months!).

Continue reading Mystic Meg: normal funding will be resumed…when?

by Piers Williamson

Two volume house-builders, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon delivered defensive statements at their recent AGMs. Persimmon in their 24 April statement commented “over the last three weeks the unprecedented tightening in the mortgage market has caused a further deterioration of the housing market leading to lower sales volumes and increased cancellation rates”. They went on to say that “against the current backdrop we have postponed the commencement of scheduled new sites until the mortgage market improves”. Their share price dropped 6% on the news.

Continue reading Housing hits the brakes

by John Allan

The overwhelming belief in the private sector is that RSLs cannot develop private residential schemes successfully. However, in my view, this is a misplaced belief born as a result of a total misconception of the RSL world!

Continue reading Can RSLs make good residential developers?

by Nigel Perryman and Ebele Akojie

You don’t normally get the word “provocative” associated with the NHF Finance Conference. However this year’s closing plenary on “regenerating communities – a roadmap for success” certainly stirred things up.

Continue reading Don’t Build Here

by Catherine Hunt

There has been much talk on THFC Space and the various housing journals about the opportunities which the slump in developers new build sales may give to Housing Associations. There have also been timely reminders about Housing Associations getting left with properties which are difficult to maintain and which were taken in the “housing package” from developers in 1991. Is this likely to happen again when most developers seem to have a surplus of two bedroom flats when associations want family homes? Malcolm Levy in “Challenging times but good opportunities for Housing Associations” (see feature of 14 December 2007) urged associations to keep a cool head. Can I urge development directors to ensure their team keep a full suite of development papers on their files and make them easily available to their treasury colleagues?

Continue reading Challenging Times – Good Deals from Developers