Cash for stalled housing projects

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Hundreds of housing developments in England that have stalled during the recession are set to share in a £925m attempt to kick-start the industry.

About 270 projects could benefit from the cash, the government said, with a third of the funds to go to housing associations to build affordable homes.

The scheme could create 20,000 jobs, housing minister John Healey said.

But he insisted the funds were not a "handout" for developers who would have to repay loans within five years.

Only builders who accepted a "realistic current market price" for their properties would be eligible, Mr Healey added, saying he wanted to see construction workers back on sites "within weeks".

Write-downs

Major UK housebuilders have scaled back developments in the past 18 months, as the credit crunch meant that would-be buyers struggled to get mortgages needed to buy new homes.

A sharp fall in the selling prices of the homes which were bought has also dented profits at building firms, who have been forced to write-down the value of their land reserves.

Separately, the Financial Times has reported that insurer Aviva is to launch a £1bn investment fund that will buy homes in the UK residential rental market.

The venture will concentrate on buying up blocks of purpose-built flats to rent out, mainly near transport hubs in the the south east of England, the paper said.