Real Estate Issues

3 primary works • 4 total works

Greenfields, Brownfields and Housing Development

by David Adams and Craig Watkins

Published 20 August 2002

This is a powerful critique of the growing tendency to reduce the new housing debate to a mere choice between greenfield and brownfield locations. This book points at the structure and organisation of the housebuilding industry, supply and demand pressures in the housing market, the contested nature of sustainability and the political character of the planning process. All factors which must be considered if a truly effective housing land policy is to be devised.

The book:

* analyses social, economic, and political influences on public policy and private investment

* places current controversies within a strong institutional context

* evaluates recent changes in housebuilding

* explores how sustainable development provides both a common and contested discourse for debates

* examines financial and economic impacts of housing land policies

The Right to Buy

by Colin Jones and Alan Murie

Published February 1984

An evaluation of the most enduring privatisation of the Thatcher era …

Written in an accessible style, this is a key reference for students and researchers in housing and planning; geography; and social policy.

The book analyses the operation and impact of the right to buy policy (RTB). It includes a critique of the Housing Act and the 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act. The enactment of these changes under a Labour government affirms the continuance of the RTB. The authors take stock of its profound effect on housing policy, reversing the growth in social housing developed over the twentieth century, transforming the nation's tenure structure and revolutionising the UK housing system.

The Right to Buy: analysis and evaluation of a housing policy begins with an examination of the policy background to the establishment of the RTB and the main features of the legislation. This is followed by chapters that review its take-up and the pattern of sales and their impact on social housing; a chapter examining the financial aspects of the RTB from the viewpoints of tenants, local authorities and central government; one looking at the impact of the RTB via subsequent re-sales on the open market and on the private rented sector; and a chapter drawing on the information already reviewed to consider the potential of the RTB to create sustainable and diverse communities. In the final chapters the international experience of parallel policies are considered and the future take-up of the RTB is assessed in the light of recent reforms together with alternatives.

Housing Markets and Planning Policy

by Colin Jones and Craig Watkins

Published 1 January 2009

Housing systems in many countries are now more market-oriented than ever before. This is particularly true of the UK, where there is heightened interest in the ability of the market to deliver new housing, as well as considerable debate among housing academics and policy makers over the extent to which policy instruments can be used to steer market processes. This increased market orientation means a greater understanding of market economics is needed. The challenges of providing affordable housing, while simultaneously addressing the problems of low demand housing in some areas, together with the revitalisation of neighbourhoods in need of renewal, also underline the need for a better understanding of the structure and operation of housing markets at local and neighbourhood level. This timely contribution to the field addresses the main housing and planning policy challenges in the UK today. It does so by examining the structure and operation of the urban housing system and then exploring both conceptual and empirical analyses of the workings of the market.
The authors then consider the lessons for policy makers, discussing the limitations of the policy framework and considering the strategies for integrating market information into the analysis undertaken in practice. Housing Markets & Planning Policy is an invaluable advanced text for students of land economy, land management, urban planning, housing and urban studies. The authors provide a uniquely detailed analysis of an important policy area that builds on a strong theoretical basis drawn from housing economics. With the challenges posed by the instability of the housing market, it will be of particular interest to academic researchers, policy-makers and housing and planning practitioners.

Office Markets and Public Policy

by Colin Jones

Published 26 February 2013

This is the first book that looks at how offices and office markets in cities have changed over the last 30 years. It analyses the long-term trends and processes within office markets, and the interaction with the spatial economy and the planning of cities. It draws on examples around the world, and looking forward at the future consequences of information communication technologies and the sustainability agenda, it sets out the challenges that now face investors. The traditional business centres of cities are losing their dominance to the brash new centres of the 1980s and 1990s, as the concept of the central business district becomes more diffuse. Edge cities, business space and office parks have entered the vocabulary as offices have also decentralised. The nature and pace of changes to office markets set within evolving spatial structures of cities has had implications for tenants and led to a demand for shorter leases. The consequence is a rethink of the traditional perception of property investment as a secure long term investment, and this is reflected in reduced investment holding periods by financial institutions.
Office Markets & Public Policy analyses these processes and policy issues from an international perspective and covers: * A descriptive and theoretical base encompassing an historical context, a review of the fundamentals of the demand for and supply of the office market and offices as an investment. Embedded within this section is a perspective on underlying forces particularly the influence of technological change. * A synthesis of our understanding of the spatial structure and dynamics of local office markets at the city level. * An assessment of the goals and influence of planning policies, and the evaluation of policies designed toward the long term sustainability of cities as services centres. This goes beyond standard real estate and urban economics books by assessing the changing shape of urban office markets within a spatial theoretical and policy context. It will be a useful advanced text for honours and postgraduate students of land economy; land management; property and real estate; urban planning; and urban studies. It will also be of interest to researchers, property professionals, policy-makers and planning practitioners.