In its second annual report on the UK housebuilding sector, Lloyds Bank said despite issues such as a skills shortage, problems with the planning system and uncertainty following the EU referendum, housebuilders are predicting further growth and investment in the sector.
Overall, 42% of respondents reported their growth forecasts had improved since the EU vote, compared with 27% who stated they had declined. Participants are now predicting an average growth of 28% over the next five years, up from 25% last year.
In addition, with the UK Government planning to build one million homes by 2020, 22% of housebuilders do not believe the sector has enough resources to help deliver these targets, while 14% are still unsure. The availability of government support (32%) and suitable land (29%) were also cited as factors that impact the industry's ability to meet these targets.
Almost a third of firms (30%) added there was not enough skilled workers in the industry, with bricklayers, electricians, plumbers and joiners being the hardest to recruit. While 25% of firms are still planning to create jobs to support growth, this is down from 31% last year. However, the sector still looks set to create over 75,000 jobs in the next five years.
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Pete Flockhart, Head of Housebuilders, Commercial Banking, Lloyds Bank, said: "Given the challenges that housebuilders face, the sector is painting a relatively optimistic picture, with improved growth and investment forecasts compared with last year's survey.
"The wider uncertainty, coupled with the rising cost of materials, presents some challenges but the industry is taking steps to tackle these issues head on, and still plans to grow.
"Businesses are confronting the much-mooted skills shortage and it is encouraging to see that almost half of the industry is making staff training a key focus and nearly a third is prioritising apprenticeships.
"Housebuilding is a key sector for the UK, driving economic growth but also delivering much needed homes which are critical to our communities. We are therefore fully committed to the sector, not just through our continued financial support to our clients to support their growth ambitions, but also by providing solutions such as our Housing Growth Partnership. This is a £100m dedicated joint venture with the Government to invest between £500,000 and £5 million to increase the supply of new homes by supporting small and medium sized housebuilders."
Stewart Baseley, Home Builders Federation, added: "If we are to build more high quality homes we simply have to increase industry capacity. We are looking at how we build our individual sites more quickly; and the measures Government could introduce to allow SME builders to play their part in delivering more homes.
"If we can continue to create an environment in which the industry can grow, as well as delivering desperately needed new homes, we can play a huge part in driving our economy forward."
(LM/MH)
