Scottish new homes market set to boom

Post covid Government statistics for 2021 show demand is up by 18% on the previous year – but as the sector returns back to real growth it will mean more emphasis on quality according to Global, one of the country’s fastest growing suppliers of latent defects warranties for new homes.

In anticipation of growing demand, Global is increasing its surveying and business development teams to work more closely with Scottish builders and developers to help them improve all aspects of the build process, delivery times and most importantly – to significantly reduce the cost of snagging and other types of avoidable repairs.

Scottish Government statistics show that there were 14,834 new build houses completed in in the year to end December 2020, a decrease of 35% or 7,839 homes, on the previous year, but in the first part of 2021 this had risen to 11,346 transactions in the 12 months to end July 2021, an increase of 18%.

“We believe that Scotland will quickly return to pre-pandemic levels and as we all know there is desperate need for new homes in the country and all other parts of the UK,” said Jim Edwards, Commercial Director for Global Home Warranties.

“Scotland in particular is set for rapid growth in all sectors, private and public. We also expect to see good growth in affordable homes. This is why we are increasing our team in Scotland as part of our growing nationwide network of surveyors and building professionals, so that we can work more closely with developers to ensure that we can get these new homes to market as quickly as possible and to the highest quality.”

The new Scottish team will be headed up by Andrew Gunning, who has also been promoted to UK Head of Retail Sales.  This is a new role within Global to support the continued growth of Global’s services. Before being promoted, Andrew was a Client Manager with Global since 2011. Andrew headed up Global’s top performing Region.  He brings a wealth of experience in driving business strategy with dynamic leadership qualities and is instrumental in planning the delivery of Global’s continued, ambitious growth plans.

Business Development Executive, Bruce Reid, joins Andrew in the expanding Scottish team.  Bruce has extensive experience in the construction industry as well as having experience working in the structural warranty insurance market.

Bringing additional surveyor support for the Scottish office is Paul McFadden, who has also joined the 12 strong national team. Paul started his career in the construction industry as a bricklayer before completing his degree in construction management. Prior to joining the Global team, Paul was Site Manager for a prominent Scottish house builder.

Global is one of the market leaders for “A” rated, structural warranty insurance for residential, mixed use, commercial and social housing projects across the UK. They can also arrange a variety of specialist bonds and have built an enviable reputation for helping to save housebuilders money by identifying defects at the construction stage.

This is the result of a rigorous inspection regime, instigated by Global at every stage of the build process, where the company’s surveyors work closely with the contractor from the moment that concrete is first poured into the footings until the building is finally delivered.

Andrew Gunning, Head of Retail Sales for Global Home Warranties, explained: “It is like having another layer of quality control. We provide an intensive multi-stage inspection process which means we can work closely with contractors to ensure that our survey teams are available at every major stage of the build process and this is helping to reduce costly repairs and snagging.”

“By working this closely with contractors the build process is not delayed in any way and more importantly we can ensure that everything is done to the highest possible standard resulting in fewer repairs later on. It is all about getting it right first time. Some warranty suppliers fail to provide such an inspection process, but we believe that this is just false economy”

Suppliers such as Global do their best to identify potential defects during the build process but it is clear that not all companies are as stringent at the front end which could mean that some builders are not getting the kind of service they should be receiving.

“When we issue a latent defects warranty, we know to the best of our professional ability that we have eliminated where humanly possible all risk to the home owner and the insurer,” said Andrew Gunning, “but it is clear that there is no common standard – and this is the problem.”

“We certainly believe it is time for the entire warranty industry to work and partner with builders more closely, to ensure that everyone has a rigorous inspection regime to identify defects more quickly.”

This says Global could save the industry millions of pounds each year in repairs while at the same time raising the image of the construction industry. It would also help eliminate from the marketplace those service providers offering so-called low-cost warranties without the benefit of thorough inspections.

This is what getting it right first time is really all about and this is what Global are planning for Scotland.

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