Savills hosted their summer Welsh Housing Valuation and Market update in Cardiff, bringing together finance and chief executives from Housing Associations across the Welsh housing sector.
The seminar, chaired by Sarah MacGregor - Associate Director and delivered by Savills Affordable Housing Valuation and Residential Research teams, covered the housing market outlook, valuation considerations and the practical implications of meeting the expectations of the Welsh Housing Quality Standards whilst balancing affordability, viability and rent policy.
The session opened with a market update from Dan Hill, Residential Research Analyst, who outlined the principal drivers currently influencing the Welsh housing market affordability, economic uncertainty, policy change and viability. Despite continuing pressures from mortgage rates, construction costs and wider economic conditions, the outlook highlighted reasons for cautious optimism, including improved market rental affordability compared with two years ago, continued political support for affordable housing, and forecasts suggesting Wales may be more resilient than other parts of the UK.
The valuation update focused on the factors currently influencing Housing Association’s valuations, including rent uplift assumptions, management and maintenance cost pressures, wage inflation, decarbonisation requirements, EPC/SAP targets and compliance with Welsh Housing Quality Standards.
There was proactive discussion, focusing on the challenges of balancing affordability, investment requirements and long-term viability. WHQS standards and affordability were recurring themes throughout the discussion, reflecting the sector’s focus on maintaining quality homes while managing financial capacity and tenant affordability.
Speakers included representatives from Savills’ Affordable Housing Valuation team; Adrian Shippey - Director, Sarah MacGregor - Associate Director, Conor Keegan - Associate, Anna Lynch – Associate and Julie Williams – Technical Administrator and Residential Research teams; Dan Hill - Associate.