New poll reveals shift in the attitudes and behaviours of housing and regeneration organisations during the downturn

Our poll, released today has found a significant increase in the number of housing and regeneration professionals admitting to mounting concern about the recession.

The poll found that four in ten organisations feel they are suffering as a result of the recession, an increase of 30% since the initial poll was conducted in October 2008. 70% of organisations remain concerned about the impact the recession will have on their business.

Gill Taylor, HCA Academy chief executive said:

“It’s not surprising that there has been a marked change in perceptions across the housing and regeneration sector during the last five months. The initial poll was carried out before the recession really took hold. Since then, we’ve witnessed housing and regeneration projects coming to a standstill, redundancies being announced and business models being radically adapted so it’s understandable that feelings of optimism and confidence are ebbing away.

"However, it’s encouraging to see that skills, knowledge and training remain high on the agenda and that professionals understand the important role that local authorities and greater partnership working can play in helping us navigate our way through the recession.”

Findings from both public and private sectors established:

• Significantly more people are working longer hours, up from 39% in October 2008 to 61% in March 2009
• 43% of professionals are negotiating better deals with suppliers and clients, an increase of 12%
• 82% of organisations are doing the same amount or more training than 12 months ago
• More than 3 in 5 organisations agree that they have experienced greater partnership working between public and private sectors

The polls conducted in October 2008 and March 2009 involved senior figures from councils, housing associations, house builders, professional bodies, skills councils and regeneration agencies. They were designed to monitor the impact the economic downturn is having on the housing and regeneration sector and how this might affect future ambitions for communities across the country.

Skills

Encouragingly, the appetite for training and advice in the current climate is high, with organisations keen to prepare for the upturn. 21% of organisations are doing more training and 6 in 10 organisations are doing the same amount as 12 months ago. Half of the organisations we spoke to are seeking to deliver in-house training.

100% of professionals cited budget management, commercial acumen and negotiation skills and 94% pinpointed risk sharing as crucial to surviving the next 12 months and to meet future housing and regeneration projects.

The role of local authorities in housing is seen to be increasing, with 7 in 10 organisations claiming that local authorities will play a greater role in the provision of housing. Pleasingly, more than 3 in 5 organisations agree that they have experienced greater partnership working between the public and private sector.

Eight in 10 organisations said they will be equipped to deal with any increase in house building, regeneration and workload.

Coping strategies

Two thirds of people polled claim to have experienced an increase in workload, up by 11% since October 2008; and 61% are now working longer hours compared to 39% in October 2008. More organisations are diversifying into other sectors, from 29% in October to 38% in March 2009 and 43% are negotiating better deals, an increase from 31% in October.

The future

Despite mounting concern, there remains genuine optimism about the future of the sector once house prices stabilise. There has been a 12% increase in the number of professionals who feel there will be more young people getting on the property ladder (from 46% to 58%) and more than two thirds of professionals feel there will be more affordable housing.