It's tough out there!

The current situation with the housing market is completely unprecedented. In reality we have stagnation. Not only is this an issue for the construction industry but there is a whole generation of society who will be defined by their lack of a home.

We have invested in the futures of many young people for many years providing training via apprenticeships or university only to find we are unable to give them work or homes.

This generation will clearly want to get on with life and are likely to look for a partner and ultimately plan a family.

Some of this group have managed to find work. However if they want to buy a property they will find it very difficult. There are houses out there but getting a mortgage is a real challenge. The banks have problems of their own and are reluctant to lend as they will want to reduce their exposure in the future.

Young people need huge deposits which is either impossible or at best,time restricted.

The other challenge is that the cost of living is continuing to grow even if it is possible to get a mortgage. The running costs of a property are growing month on month as energy costs continue to grow.

If the alternative is social housing then there is a huge shortage of product on the market. Registered providers seem to be looking inwards at present rather than looking at opportunity. Many of these organisations have built huge infrastructures throughout the boom of the past ten years. They are now going through the slow and difficult process of adjusting their cost base to suit the new environment.

In this environment it is difficult to imagine there will be much creativity or risk taking.

The government is in a very difficult place with this issue, it knows there is a problem, it wants to support the construction industry as this helps encourage growth and provides job. It also acknowledges there is a huge housing shortage.

However the government has little potential for movement. It has no cash or resources. It has released land which is a good start. It is also trying to address the strangle hold planning has on development. It has also come up with several mechanisms to encourage lending by the banks by underwriting loans.

I think all of this is creative and I do believe the government is really trying to get some movement in the sector. Despite this commitment and a real push there is little appetite for development at present due to the inherent risk.

Progress is slow to nonexistent. There are very few new developments or appetite for innovation.

The government needs to keep pushing and hope that over the months ahead there will be an increase in confidence across the public and private housing sector market.

In reality I believe we are several years away from any significant change. When there is a change we will be ready with our Spacehus approach as a new way to deliver high quality low cost housing.