Labour attack tories on housing starts

Thrugelmir

ukcarper wrote: »

Can someone tell me what the Tories would have done to prevent housing boom.

　

Prevented HBOS, Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley from taking excessive risk by regulating the banks better.

The housing boom didn't benefit the average man in the street. While everyone else pocketed the rewards.

IveSeenTheLight

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Lov
They state that freedom of information requests show that tory councils are buidling 30% fewer affordable properties than lib dem councils.

Got to say it irks me to have to pay towards affordable homes when I am adding to the housing stock by building my own home.

I'm not a developer (in any case, I'm sure they incorporate the affordable levy's into the new build price) so not working on a profit basis.

ukcarper

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Prevented HBOS, Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley from taking excessive risk by regulating the banks better.

The housing boom didn't benefit the average man in the street. While everyone else pocketed the rewards.

Do you think the tories would have done that I don't.

chewmylegoff

MacMickster wrote: »

The major housebuilding firms bought in to the property boom as much as their customers did. Consequently they bought huge tracts of land suitable for development, way in advance of when they would actually have the resources to develop them. There was no risk in doing so as, after all, land and property prices can only ever go up.

Now, having paid high prices for this banked land, they are unwilling to crystalise losses by building on it. If it were not for the high price paid for this land, the actual cost of building materials and labour would allow them to make a profit whilst selling houses at significantly lower prices.

It is time for the introduction of an annual tax on land. Make it equally bad for these companies, or anyone else, to hold on to land without putting it to productive use. We are an island with a limited resource of land suitable for either development or agriculture. It should not be an option for anyone to just sit on this resource.

This is definitely correct, but I don't think the solution you propose would have the required effect unless the tax was draconian.

This is because if the house builder takes losses on one bit of land that they paid 25% over the odds for in say 2007, then they would probably have to impair (i.e. write off part of the value of - resulting in a charge against profit) all of the other land they bought around the same time.

This would damage the share price of any listed house builder quite significantly, resulting in (I) directors' share options becoming worthless; (II) directors not getting bonuses; (III) shareholders getting angry and voting said directors off the board.

I doubt any government will have the resolve to impose a tax on land banks which will actually make revaluation with the above consequences a more attractive option for the directors.

Thrugelmir

ukcarper wrote: »

Do you think the tories would have done that I don't.

Only a blind man couldn't have failed to see that something was amiss.

However I do agree with you.

On a global scale. Those in power got it wrong totally.

The number of country's who had housing bubbles stands as a testament.

Moby

homelessskilledworker wrote: »

You beat me too it, the bloomin cheek of them, a "socialist" government that built hardly any social housing and encouraged a property bubble, who were in power for 13 years when there was money available.



p.s Are we talking James Toney.. Iran Barkley, light heavy Roy jones, Mike McCullum fights:)

You are completely ignoring the fact that Thatcher sold off all the social housing leaving less housing stock available for poorer families!

Moby

MacMickster wrote: »

The major housebuilding firms bought in to the property boom as much as their customers did. Consequently they bought huge tracts of land suitable for development, way in advance of when they would actually have the resources to develop them. There was no risk in doing so as, after all, land and property prices can only ever go up.

Now, having paid high prices for this banked land, they are unwilling to crystalise losses by building on it. If it were not for the high price paid for this land, the actual cost of building materials and labour would allow them to make a profit whilst selling houses at significantly lower prices.

It is time for the introduction of an annual tax on land. Make it equally bad for these companies, or anyone else, to hold on to land without putting it to productive use. We are an island with a limited resource of land suitable for either development or agriculture. It should not be an option for anyone to just sit on this resource.

Excellent post. Calls it as it is and shows the 'builder' tory donors for what they are, profit driven and lacking in any social resposibility!