Report defends homebuilder landbanks
Published: 27-Jun-2008
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The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has claimed that so-called landbanks are a necessary part of the development process.
Homebuilders have been accused in the past of buying up large sections of land, suitable for residential accommodation for lettings, without any intention of building.
Many claim that this has a negative impact on the lettings and property market.
However, the financing of homebuilders' survey found that holding landbanks were not the result of a desire to prevent competition.
The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) recently claimed that England needs more than three million new residential properties by 2020 to meet growing demands.
With uncertainty in both the mortgage and housing markets set to continue, many of these may have to be provided as residential lettings, which makes the OFT's report all the more poignant for letting agents.
Heather Clayton, senior director of infrastructure at the OFT, explained that this was only the first part of the market study.
She noted that one of the next steps would be to establish whether there is room for improvement in consumer satisfaction levels.
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