A new report is calling for a radical reshaping of the UK housing market to ensure threatened home building jobs are saved. Author the British Property Federation (BPF) says the government should create a corporate rental sector to encourage investment in new property.

The Future of Renting report says renewed property investment is needed to reinvigorate the home building market and “save thousands of jobs”. BPF residential director Ian Fletcher said:

“We’re in a ridiculous position where we have increasing demand yet house builders are stepping out of the market because they have nobody to sell to.

“If we had a corporate rental sector here as they do in Europe, it would not only mean continued investment and thousands of extra new homes, it would also ensure that the major house builders had someone to sell their stock to and that the public had the benefits of a branded rental sector.”

The BPF also said developers want a housing sector to mirror the commercial property market. This could see long-term lets and thousands of new family homes built by institutions such as pension funds, the group said.

Other measures demanded by the organisation include cutting ‘unfair’ stamp duty rules that ‘penalise’ large investors.

India’s property boom has attracted further foreign property investment in the shape of three apartment projects planned by an Israeli real estate firm. A report from Globes Online states Yaakov Engel and partner Hezi Hermoni have purchased land for building three residential projects in the state of Goa.

According to the site, the project will be carried out by Engel’s EngelInvest Group development firm. Around $500 million is being pumped into the three sites by the pair, with around 2,030 new homes and apartments on the cards in picturesque areas.

The partnership expects to double its money with the scheme, according to Globes Online. The three projects will involve a large development in the Cortalim region overlooking the banks of Zuari river, a second complex in Goa itself and a third in the upmarket Dona Paula region.

Despite tough property laws, India continues to draw strong interest from foreign property investors. British, Russian and Israeli businesses in particular are snapping up property and land.

According to the Times of India, the Goa state government has banned foreigners for buying properties in the region, but local builders have developed five-year leases to stay within the law.

A terror attack in the UAE appears more likely than ever following a raising of the threat level by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The FCO updated its travel advice for the UAE this week, saying the risk of a terrorist incident was “high” an advising visitors to be vigilant.

The business and tourism hub houses many western interests, and is visited by around one million British tourists a year. About 120,000 UK nationals are also thought to now live permanently in the UAE. The updated FCO advice for the region reads:

“We believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE. Attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers such as residential compounds, military, oil, transport and aviation interests.”

Many British expatriates are involved in the ongoing property development boom in the collection of Gulf Arab states, with Dubai a particular hotspot for holidaymakers and business travellers involved in property investment.

The new FCO advice adds:

“You should maintain a high level of security awareness, particularly in public places.”

With its links to the US, UK and other western countries it has long been suspected the UAE, and Dubai in particular, could appear on the hit lists of Islamic extremist groups.