Building Briefs - August 11th

• ID Systems awarded telemetry engineering support services framework with Scottish Water

Beginning in July 2021, the initial contract term is four years with an option to extend up to a further four years. IDS has provided uninterrupted telemetry services to Scottish Water since 2003.

The scope of works will include, but not be limited to; design (excluding outline design), site and desktop surveys, Remote Telemetry Unit (RTU) projects and site installation, along with testing and commissioning services for new and existing solutions. In addition, IDS will provide support, as required, to Scottish Water’s electrical and mechanical department for communications failures, reactive faults and minor enhancements.

IDS currently supplies telemetry services to approximately 30 clients including housing developers, water companies and local authorities. Its existing clients include Scottish Water, United Utilities, Edinburgh Council and Barratt Homes.

• Abronhill to purchase homes at Clyde Valley Housing Association development

Abronhill Housing Association has highlighted its involvement in a new development in Cumbernauld.

Currently under construction by Wilson Developments Ltd, the Redwood Road development, on the site of the Woodcutter pub, comprises a mix of 2 and 3 bedroom flats and cottage flats.

The homes are being developed by Clyde Valley Housing Association and will be purchased by Abronhill Housing Association on completion. The development is being funded by a mix of Scottish Government grant and private finance from Bank of Scotland.

The development will add 36 new properties for rent to the Abronhill area. Two family wheelchair standard cottage flats are also included.

Completion of the new homes is expected late Autumn 2021.

• Holiday site rejected over road safety

Road safety fears appear to have scuppered retrospective planning permission for holiday accommodation which has been built on the outskirts of Bridge of Allan.

Susan Dickson had submitted an application to Stirling Council for five holiday accommodation units, an office, cafe and toilets at Drumbrae Farm.

However, the bid has now been refused after road officers objected on the grounds of insufficient visibility at the access junction.

The proposed access was from an existing private track that meets the public Pendreich Road where access is formed as a bellmouth junction.

While the council planners felt the development itself was suitable, the road safety concerns were a significant issue.

• West Dunbartonshire Council homes are safe and ‘secured by design’

Four of West Dunbartonshire Council’s new housing developments have been recognised by Police Scotland for their high quality of security and safety.

Housing projects at Creveul Court, Haldane, Aitkenbar and St Andrews were awarded Secured by Design Gold certification – recognising their design is helping provide safer neighbourhoods and reducing crime.

The award – the highest available in the scheme - acknowledges the measures taken to reduce the opportunity for crime and anti-social behaviour by improved layout, environmental design and the use of police preferred specification products.

The police initiative aims to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit.

As part of the certification, a number of key factors are considered including the road layouts, position of dwellings, footpath design and lighting.

Physical security of the new homes is also considered, with each of the developments using Secure by Design certified doors and locking systems, and providing secure viewing panels at front and communal doors.

Additional features highlighted as part of the Gold award include laminated ground floor windows, appropriate storage for bicycles, and communal parking in smaller groups which are overlooked by well-used rooms in the surrounding homes.

The award was gained after working with Secure by Design’s trained ‘Designing Out Crime’ Officers before construction began, with officers on hand to provide advice and guidance until the developments are complete.

• Scottish city homes among most affordable in the UK

Steady growth of house prices and wages has put Scotland’s cities ahead of the UK when it comes to the affordability of homes, according to Bank of Scotland research.

With the average home now £210,368, and average earnings at £36,804, homes in Scotland’s cities have a Price to Earnings (PE) ratio - a measure of affordability - of 5.7. By contrast, when looking at the UK whole, an average city home will set buyers back by £287,440. With average UK earnings at £35,677, the national PE ratio is 8.1, much higher than in Scotland.

The Bank’s research looked at 61 UK cities, including the seven cities in Scotland. Edinburgh’s enduring popularity ensures houses there continue to attract a premium price. Homes in the capital now cost £285,605 and, with average wages of the city’s inhabitants at £42,245, affordability remains below the Scottish average – but above the UK as a whole - with house prices in the historic location 6.8 times earnings.

Comparatively, homes in London average 11 times earnings and those in Winchester, the UK’s least affordable city, now cost 14 times the average annual income amongst those living and working in the popular Hampshire location.

The six other cities in Scotland all rank within the 10 most affordable cities in the UK. Stirling, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Perth, and Inverness rank fourth to eighth respectively, with Dundee in tenth place. Affordability across the six locations is very similar, ranging from 5.4 times earnings in Stirling, to 5.8 in Dundee.

Over the last decade the cost of homes in Scotland has grown at a steady pace. Since 2011, the average city home increased by 35% (38% for all Scottish homes), about half that of UK cities in general, which grew 71%. Stirling, with good transport links to both Edinburgh and Glasgow, saw the biggest growth in house prices of any Scottish city over the past ten years. Homes there have risen 52% to £208,927. Gloucester saw the highest UK house price inflation over the same period, rising 101%, to £287,600.

This solid growth has been largely in line with wage growth, which has helped to keep affordability relatively consistent, with the PE ratio for Scottish cities increasing from 5.1 in 2011 to 5.7 in 2021. Affordability across all the UK’s cities is a different story. The UK picture was similar to that of Scotland in 2011, at 5.6 times earnings, however the PE ratio for all UK cities now stands at 8.1, as overall house price inflation has outstripped wage growth.

• Halifax launches two-year fixed rate mortgage deal at 0.83%

Halifax has launched a new ultra-low two-year fixed-rate mortgage deal priced at 0.83%.

The deal was made available to homebuyers via mortgage brokers yesterday and allows those wishing to take out a loan worth up to 60% of the value of their home.

The announcement is the latest in a stream of mortgage rate cuts made by several of Britain’s largest lenders seeking to benefit from rising demand for homes in the UK.

In June, our sister publication Scottish Financial News reported that the number of sub-1% mortgages on offer in the UK increased as major banks and lenders extended their ranges.

HSBC UK unveiled a rate below 1% for the first time in nearly five years, while Nationwide Building Society offered a 0.99% mortgage fixed for two years for borrowers with a 40% deposit.

Halifax’s mortgage comes with a fee of £1,499 and is available for purchases between £250,000 to £1m. It joins a rising number of below 1% deals for borrowers with large deposits.

The competition to attract borrowers comes amid increasing signs that Britain’s house price boom is slowing. In April, UK lenders began offering mortgage rates below 1% for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this week, ESPC revealed that the Scottish property market continued its upward trend during May, June, and July 2021, as buyers flocked to secure homes across Edinburgh, Lothians, Fife, and the Borders

House prices have risen strongly in the past year, helped by Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s decision to scrap stamp duty on purchases in England and Northern Ireland up to £500,000.

The chancellor’s tax break was limited to homes up to £250,000 at the start of July and will revert to £125,000 in October. The holiday has already ended in Scotland and Wales.