News Archive - Apr 2008 - Buildstore

In advice which may be useful for those building their own houses and hoping they will fetch a good price if and when they are sold on, a horticultura...

A second housing development in the north-east involving flat-pack houses is under way, it has been reported. Following the groundbreaking project ...

Figures from Nationwide Building Society have shown that house prices have now fallen over the past 12 months. The monthly statistics for April indic...

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said any significant improvement in the mortgage market is a distant prospect. Commenting on yesterday'...

Prefabricated modular homes that are quick and easy to assemble are growing in popularity, the director of a firm that specialises in them has stated....

The number of residential mortgage approvals has reached a record low, new statistics have revealed. Bank of England figures for lending to individ...

Pop singer Lily Allen has given her support to a campaign that could encourage more people to renovate or self build their homes with green energy f...

Another survey of house prices has found that they are dropping in the majority of regions. Following the news from property website Hometrack that...

Those seeking to get on the housing ladder may find the situation becoming yet more difficult thanks to more banks announcing further increases in dep...

A district council in County Durham has pledge to give a higher priority to affordable housing after seeing prices rise by 63 per cent over a six year...

Those looking for planning permission to self build their homes need to take a number of elements into consideration when they are planning, it has ...

The majority of UK postcodes have recorded a fall in house prices this month, new research has indicated. Figures from property portal Hometrack ha...

The Ford Airfield Vision Group, the body behind one of the 15 proposed eco-towns, has announced it is to run a roadshow presenting its plans for the 5...

Those hoping for the cost of new homes to continue dropping may have been disappointed to hear that the average price of such dwellings has now starte...

Nearly a fifth of Britons would like to self build their dream home, a new survey has revealed. A poll by insurance firm Legal and General publis...

The chances of a quicker process of interest-rate trimming by the Bank of England that could help bring down the cost of mortgages has receded, an eco...

A survey of homeowners in Devon has revealed that this group believes the best way to invest in 2008 is through self build or home renovation . Th...

Many first-time buyers are still able to get on the housing ladder because their parents are able to draw on their own housing equity to finance dep...

A significant minority of people living in newly-built homes are unhappy with the standard of work that has gone into the construction of them, a new ...

Personal finance website Moneyfacts.co.uk has said that most lenders have not passed on the recent base rate cut to their standard variable mortgag...

The number of first-time buyers fell again in March, new figures have shown. Statistics from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) have ...

A project to find out how to make existing UK homes greener may provide some useful knowledge on how people wanting to do the same to their houses can...

The British Bankers'' Association (BBA) has revealed that mortgage lending was down again in March. In a further indication of the impact of the cr...

The minutes of the April meeting of the Bank of England''s monetary policy committee (MPC) have revealed a three-way split in the voting over the deci...

The government''s plans to build 240,000 zero-carbon homes by 2016 will not be realised unless more land is made available, it has been claimed. Ad...

Tim Besley, a member of the Bank of England''s monetary policy committee (MPC), has said that the Bank will use other means than just interest rates t...

Home renovations and DIY improvements can save £400 in energy costs every year, green gadget shop Nigel''s Eco store has stated. Founder Nigel...

Two homes in a Surrey village have been hailed as the most eco friendly in Britain. Built to an eco rating of five, just one level below zero carbon,...

Arun council in West Sussex has said it is considering holding its own enquiry into the plans to site one of the government''s eco towns in the dist...

The Council of Mortgage lenders (CML) has questioned how much effect the government''s plan to boost the mortgage market by allowing banks to tr...

Self build has an inbuilt tendency to be much more eco-friendly than conventional building because those who use this method to obtain their own hom...

An expert on self-building has said it is something that anybody can do. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Kevin McCloud, presenter of the TV...

A member of the Bank of England''s monetary policy committee has warned that the mortgage market will not fully return to the state it was in before...

The increase in the building of eco-friendly homes in Wales are taking place at the expense of creating affordable ones, it has been argued. An unnam...

First-time buyers and remortgagers have seen little or no positive impact from the Bank of England''s recent interest rate cut as rates have remained ...

Mortgage lending was up in March but is on course to drop in the months to come, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said. Figures from the...

A mortgage lender has announced that it is to cease business from this Friday. Rooftop Mortgages, a London-based subsidiary of struggling American ...

A row has broken out over an entrepreneur''s controversial comments over the standard of builders which has highlighted the issue of home construction...

Many people actively look to pick a place to live that has a low crime rate, it has been stated. Miles Shipside, director of property website Righ...

A new survey has shown that the cost of buying a home has risen by 200 per cent for first-time buyers in the last decade. While those looking to get ...

A proposed eco-town in Cambridgeshire on the government''s shortlist of 15 has run up against opposition from local residents who are sceptical about ...

Homes in Edinburgh that are made more environmentally friendly may be in line to benefit from council tax rebates. The city council is to ask the Sco...

The upcoming Grand Designs Live London consumer show has been hailed by TV presenter Kevin McCloud as being head and shoulders above competitors. M...

Two new surveys have suggested that house prices are on the slide in the UK. Figures from the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered S...

One of the proposed eco town sites on the government''s shortlist of 15 is facing accusations that the land it is to be built on is mostly not brown...

Potential homebuyers have millions of pounds in their pockets which they have decided not to spend on housing deposits due to delaying plans to get on...

A new survey has revealed that people living in bungalows are happier than those in any other kind of dwelling. The research by Countryside Propertie...

A new piece of research has suggested that areas of east and south London tend to be the most at-risk areas from negative equity in the capital. The ...

The Princess Royal has spoken out over the lack of affordable homes in the south-west of England, warning that: "Housing affordability in the Sou...

First-time buyers will gain little help from a new government initiative designed to aid their entry into the housing market, it has been claimed. Th...

Halifax Home Insurance has stated that nearly 600,000 people have their homes damaged every year by DIY mistakes made by their neighbours. The in...

The withdrawal of mortgage products to new customers by some lenders recently will have a knock-on effect on buyers generally, it has been predicted...

Buildstore has stated that using the self build method to get on the housing ladder is a good way to avoid negative equity. The firm has stated tha...

The notion that housing market affordability is substantially improving due to falling prices has been questioned by the latest figures from the Finan...

Those hoping to live in an eco-home could find their plans being undermined by local authorities opposed to any of the government''s 15 shortlisted ec...

A self build home created by Tommy Walsh, presenter of TV show Groundforce, has gone on the market. The house, an eco-home that Mr Walsh complete...

The Bank of England has announced it is cutting the base rate from 5.25 per cent to five per cent, but an expert has said this will do little to impro...

The share of the residential housing market held by first-time buyers fell in the first quarter of the year, a new survey has revealed. A poll of es...

Calls have been growing for the Bank of England''s monetary policy committee (MPC) to lower interest rates tomorrow, but it has been suggested that th...

Government slated over housing grant scheme The government has been heavily criticised by political opponents over a new grant scheme for first-time ...

First-time buyers will be one group that does not benefit from an opportunistic intervention in the mortgage market by HSBC. The bank has revealed ...

A spokesperson for DIY store B&Q has said that household renovation to improve the value of homes has seen an increasing emphasis on energy ef...

The latest Halifax house price figures have revealed a 2.5 per cent fall in house prices in March, a statistic which may indicate that those buying ho...

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has said a cut in interest rates this week would not be enough to restore confidence in the mortga...

Abbey has announced that it is withdrawing its range of 100 per cent mortgages as it tightens its lending criteria in the ongoing credit crunch crisis...

A member of parliament has given her backing to a charity in which people from low income backgrounds self build their homes. Liverpool Riverside M...

Environmentalist group Friends of the Earth has called on the government to press ahead with building more eco homes after the announcement of the eco...

A cut of 0.25 per cent in the Bank of England base rate this week will do very little to make mortgages affordable, an expert has suggested. Scotland...

Those who want to self build their own homes without having to move away from the city have been offered a new opportunity in an area of Manchester ...

Second homes should be taxed heavily in order to deter people buying them up and denying locals a chance to get on the housing ladder, an MP has argue...

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has argued that the government should be looking to renovate existing homes that are standing empty rather tha...

Those hoping for swift cuts in interest rates in order to make mortgages cheaper may find their hopes dented following comments by a member of the Ban...

An economist has forecast that Britain''s housing market is not about to crash and plunge millions into negative equity. Speaking at the Chartered In...

Housing minister Caroline Flint has revealed the shortlist of potential eco-towns from which the final ten will be chosen. Ms Flint said there were 1...

The targets for building new homes in Torbay will come under close scrutiny, it has been stated. Bristol based surveyors Baker Associates are to exam...

Renewed calls have been made for cuts in VAT on the cost of renovating homes in the wake of a government study on the issue of making existing houses ...

Britain''s lender crisis has deepened as one of the leading banks in the country has called a moratorium on mortgage lending to new borrowers. Firs...

A new survey has revealed there is widespread pessimism among the building industry about its ability to deliver on the government''s target date of...

The London mayoral candidates of the three main political parties have all pledged to increase the level of housebuilding in the capital if elected. ...

Britons are increasingly opting for prefabricated housing, according to one industry spokesperson. John Slaughter of the Home Builders Federation (...

The publication of the World Wildlife Fund report, How Low, has been welcomed by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). This report has suggested a...

The government should help tackle the problem of climate change through the housing sector, according to an environment group. Friends of the Earth h...

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has called for a ruling meaning that only firms which train and employ apprentices would be eligible for gover...