The Return: Property & Investment Podcast

I sat down with Aubrey Adams OBE, Chair of L&Q Group, one of the biggest housing associations in the UK, with 110,000 homes. He’s also former Chief Executive of Savills, and Chair of Tritax Big Box REIT. We covered: What Housing Associations like L&Q, with 110k homes under management, actually do, the challenges they face and how these are being tackled The volume/quality trade-off in social housing Policy ideas for solving volume, quality and distribution (inequality) problems in housing. Guest website: https://www.lqgroup.org.uk/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/london-&-quadrant/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

Residential investment is seen as a great investment option for volatile, inflationary times. And quality asset management is an essential part of this. I had the pleasure of interviewing Samantha Kempe, Co-Founder and CIO of IMMO, with highlights including: The wide range of investors now allocating capital to Single Family Rental, from Private Equity to Pension Funds Quality asset management in existing residential, including upgrading energy performance and safety standards Delivering quality, affordable homes without the high embodied carbon of new builds Guest website: immo.capital Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-kempe-3ab42394/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

The Building Safety Act marks a significant change for the construction industry. It overhauls existing regulations on building standards and construction materials, with the goal of driving quality in design, construction and operation. I had the privilege of chairing a panel on its wide-reaching implications with Gary Strong, Global Standards Director at the RICS, Jane Duncan OBE from the RIBA, Liz Oliver, Safer Homes Director at Hyde Housing Association, Sarah Kiesel, Senior Technical Operations Manager at NHBC and John Winter from Apex Insurance. The panel was part of an event hosted by the Cambridge Forum for the Construction Industry and the Cambridge University Land Society’s Residential Forum. I’m sharing the panel on the pod because despite its importance, the Act is not widely understood. Topics include: What are the intended and unintended consequences of this new Act? Will the Act result in an exodus of professionals, especially SME surveyors, architects etc? What are the commercial implications of the Act? Guests LinkedIn and websites: Gary Strong | https://www.rics.org/uk/ | Jane Duncan | https://www.architecture.com/ | Liz Oliver | https://www.hyde-housing.co.uk/ | Sarah Kiesel | https://www.nhbc.co.uk/ | John Winter | https://apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk/ Event Host Websites: https://www.cfci.org.uk/ | https://www.culandsoc.com/forums/residential-forum/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

The post-Grenfell drive for improved building safety has, rightly, shaken up the construction industry. One consequence of many, is the significant change in the costs of Professional Indemnity Insurance and the timeframes it is needed for. I spoke to John Winter from Apex Insurance about: Extended liability periods: from 6 years from practical completion on a project to 15 years, and a new retrospective right to claim for 30 years, leaving firms open to claims dating back to the mid-nineties. Increased costs of cover: with cheaper insurance providers leaving the market, costs of PI cover are increasing by 500-800% for many professionals on renewal. What increased costs of business mean for professionals, including fears of an exodus of professionals and fewer building projects being viable, making it ever harder to meet our national housing targets. Guest website: https://apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwinter-pispecialist/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

I chatted to Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla, about the UK rental market in Q4 2022. Some highlights: 12.1% annual rental price growth Demand is 46% above average, and total supply is 38% below the 5 year averages Rental (un)affordability is at a 10 year peak of 35% for single earners, which explains by 3.6m 20-34 year olds are living with their families (not far off the size of the entire social rented sector, at 4.2m households). Guest website: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-donnell-a043833a/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

I chatted to Alexandra Thur, Founder of Tollington Group and former founding team member at Blackstone-backed Invitation Homes and B2R about the emergence of Single Family Rental as an institutionally-accepted asset class. We covered: The market conditions needed to make Single-Family Rental work in the US The growth of US Single-Family Rental, to ⅓ of homes in some cities What European investors can learn from the US experience, from technological capabilities to considering the needs of local communities up front Guest website: https://www.tollingtongroup.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrathur/  Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

I sat down with Melanie Bien, award-winning PR specialist, former Personal Finance Editor of the Independent on Sunday, and author of four best-selling property 'for dummies' books to talk about what’s driving the market and whether property investment still makes sense ‘for dummies’. Key topics include: What the end of an era of cheap finance really means for residential property How close we are to the peak of rent growth A whistle stop tour of the key market changes since 2020 Guest website: https://www.bienmedia.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-bien-4b67144/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

Manoj Varsani MBE joined me on the podcast this week to talk about: Using tech for good, including establishing SOS Supplies to provide £5m worth of PPE to those in need through Covid Making Tax Digital - what landlords need to know about upcoming changes to reporting requirements, and why automated financial management makes sense in the context of the upcoming 5 x annual deadlines Using software to make property compliance easier, including budgeting for energy performance upgrades to comply with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards Guest website: https://www.usehammock.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manojvarsani/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

I caught up with Luay Al-Khatib, Director of Standards for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on the role of RICS in the shift to Net Zero. Key topics include: Whole life carbon assessment - because you can’t manage what you don’t measure Guidance to lenders - vital as this influences the viability of schemes, investments and even home purchases Upskilling and improving knowledge to improve the energy efficiency of real estate - from surveys to retrofits Governance in surveying and the importance of independence Guest website: https://www.rics.org/uk/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luay-al-khatib-895a4149 Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com

I had the pleasure of catching up with Lucian Cook, Head of UK Residential Research at Savills and leading housing market commentator on the pod. Key topics include: What’s happened in mainstream and prime housing in the last 2 years Economic, social and environmental sustainability and housing policy How scrapping mortgage affordability tests will affect house prices What next for UK house prices (the least inaccurate forecasts)? Guest website: https://www.savills.co.uk/people/savills-margaret-street/lucian-cook.aspx Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucian-cook/ Sponsor website: immo.capital Sponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/ Host website: annaclareharper.com