Since August 2007 the investment world has been hit by the perfect storm, unparalleled since the 1930s and in some ways exceeding even that. In the period up to the end of the current Comprehensive Spending Round, affordable housing had received a significant settlement of £8.4Bn for the period 2008-2011. We await the outcome of the proposed CSR on October 20, but it is likely that both capital and revenue spend on affordable housing are to be cut by 25-30% across the next review period. The profiling of cuts is likely to mean that there will be pressure to maintain even the existing committed investment programme, let alone grow output of affordable homes in the next 12 to 18 months.

Continue reading Brave New World: The London Housing Economy Post CSR….

Dear Sir (for it is usually a ‘Sir’) – We are a charitable organisation committed to delivering affordable housing to first time buyers and those in housing need. Like your institution we have been in business for some time. Unlike your institution we did not invest in complex and toxic investments called things like “CDO² and “SIVs” (which we thought were for getting rid of the unwanted bits in a kitchen…clearly yours seemed to do the opposite), or pay our Chief Executive £10m in one year.

Continue reading An open letter from a Housing Association to the Bank Manager

London has become an increasingly international city over recent decades. It is one of the most expensive capitals in the world to live. But affordability, diversity and choice of tenure in housing lie at the heart of whether we can sustain London as the thriving mixed community that we know today. The danger is that the cost of owned housing drives ordinary working people and communities further and further from the urban boundaries of London itself, changing the character of the capital and making it a less sustainable working and living environment.

Continue reading Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner

The Social Housing Magazine Finance Conference was ominously titled “Affordable Housing in an Age of Austerity”. The timing of the conference was unfortunate given that very little about housing policy has been announced by the new Government. Many predictions were made from various people within the housing industry as to factors likely to affect the housing sector.

Continue reading Overview of the Age of Austerity

This THFC Space blog post is written with some frustration, in terms of conflict between head and heart. We have had an apparently policy laden 24 hour deluge since the three Leaders’ debates began what seems a lifetime ago, but was only 20 days, which has shaken the nation from its political lethargy. However, the deep cuts and tax rises necessary to eliminate the c£70Bn structural deficit have been assiduously avoided by all politicians.

Continue reading What Happens Next?