Social housing investment fails to meet forecasts

Social housing investment fails to meet forecasts



Investment in social housing was £700m less than market estimates, new data has revealed.


A quarterly survey by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) found that investment in social housing supply reached only £1.8bn in the second quarter of 2016, falling short of the £2.5bn forecasted in March.

Current asset sales receipts also failed to meet predictions, falling £182m below the £713m predicted in March.

The sector’s cash balances are also expected to fall from £5.6bn to £3.9bn in the next 12 months.

Despite this, the HCA reported that £1.2bn in new finance was raised in the second quarter, of which 40% came from banks and 56% was provided by capital markets.

The sector also boasts access to sufficient finance, with £14.5bn of undrawn facilities still in place.

Meanwhile, fixed asset sale receipts exceeded the March forecast of £339m by £115m.

Cashflow forecasts also showed that the sector plans to invest £9.4bn in housing supply over the next 12 months.

Jonathan Walters, deputy director of regulation at the HCA, said: “Given the events at the end of June it is encouraging to see that the sector is well placed to respond to any changes in the wider economic environment.

“The survey results also demonstrate continued investor confidence in the sector.

“With an 18-month delivery pipeline that includes over 27,000 affordable homeownership and outright sale homes, the regulator will continue to monitor sales forecasts and we expect providers to manage their development pipelines carefully.”



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