New build is rarely out of the news. Housing targets, lack of supply of the right type of property, or unaffordability for first-time buyers and potential solutions to ease the sale and purchase of new homes all register high on the radar of policy makers, industry leaders and the house-buying public alike.

Whatever happens at the next general election, it is fair to say housing will be a battleground and a high profile issue upon which party lines will be drawn. Labour have said that they will give local authorities more power to build on green belt land to meet their area’s housing needs if the party wins. By contrast Rishi Sunak has previously pledged to defend green belt land – something supported by many Conservative MPs.

Building sustainable homes means new build will remain a crucial part of renewing our housing stock and the focus of lenders to improve their back book and origination risk will likely increase the appetite of lenders for new build lending than it already has.

This means understanding the risks around new build from a lending point of view will not abate. Premiums and inflationary incentives (over and above any fiscal intervention such as a relaunch of Help-to-Buy) will mean understanding the risks and exposures lenders have to new build sites remains a key priority.

This process of determining value is now becoming sharper as we employ data and new modelling techniques to understand the risks for our clients. Lenders need decisions more quickly than ever in a methodology that secures market share without increasing risk and need to get those results in the most appropriate way – a way that for example helps with the drive to lower carbon emissions.

We have just launched our remote valuation for new build proposition. Already in use for some current clients, it delivers insight and analysis to a level not previously attainable remotely.

It will bring a data-led methodology to the market increasing speed; taking an average of 4 days less than a physical valuation, and injecting cost benefits while reducing carbon emissions from reduced site visits. Identified higher risk sites will continue to be inspected physically if appropriate.

Importantly, on first instruction to a new development, our surveyor will visit the site and assess its suitability for Remote Valuation. Once approved by our specialist new build team, an automated triage process will then be put in place for subsequent inspections.

The service is tailored to every lender’s individual risk appetite. If approved, we digitally collect information such as the UK Finance Disclosure Form, site and floor plans from developers. A local surveyor will carry out the Remote Valuation on receipt of the requested documents. The output is then automatically formatted into the lender’s mortgage valuation report.

Ultimately, we need new processes, methodologies and insights if we are to deliver the volume of new housing we really need to aspire to build over the coming years. Our Remote Valuation model is part of the change that is urgently needed to safely speed up the delivery of new builds in the UK.

James Ginley, Technical Surveying Director, e.surv