Docklands News

In Deptford, a group of campaigners is making a last-ditch effort to change a development they feel could negatively affect the local community. Hong Kong-based developer Hutchison Whampoa has pushed to get plans for three huge towers of 38 and 48 storeys approved in the area, despite local resistance. But local group Voice 4 Deptford has produced what it says is a “greener” vision that recognises the climate emergency. It proposes weaving local history and culture into the site and replacing the towers – which activists say use more water than lower density blocks – with homes that have more shared space for children to play. 

The Guardian (18/04/2022)  

The number of new homes being listed for sale has risen for the first time in a year, according to surveyors. The latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) residential market survey said an increase in listings has helped drive a “modest” rise in sales last month. A net balance of 8% of property professionals witnessed a rise in the volume of fresh listings. The new figures also showed a net balance of 9% of respondents reporting a rise in new buyer enquiries for the month. Experts at the trade body said it was the first time since the pandemic that supply of properties and demand from potential buyers had been so closely aligned. In March, a balance of 74% of respondents saw a rise in house prices, almost identical to the average seen over the past 12 months, with the steepest increases in Wales, Northern Ireland and the north of England. A net 54% of respondents said rents had also risen.  

Daily Mail (15/04/2022)   Evening Standard (15/04/2022)   The Independent (15/04/2022)   The Times (15/04/2022)  

After more than a year of surging house prices, forecasters have predicted that the market has peaked and is likely to decline next year. "The prospects for the housing market over the medium term now appear gloomier," says Karl Thompson, an economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research. He has predicted that house prices will fall by 2% in 2023. Mr Thompson is not the only one to call the top of the market, despite figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that house prices rose by 10.9% in the year to February. 

The Sunday Times (17/04/2022)  

One Housing Group’s plan to demolish and rebuild an estate in London’s Docklands have been backed by residents in a ballot. The company, which merged with Riverside last month, plans to build 347 homes on Stewart Street on the Isle of Dogs. More than four out of five resident voters, 82%, backed the proposals. Under the plans, which have not yet been developed in detail, two existing blocks and a community centre containing 84 homes will be demolished. A new development, likely to comprise three towers, will be built along with a new community facility. Of the 347 homes, 96 will be for affordable tenures, made up of 67 for social rent and 29 for shared ownership. One Housing will now begin the detailed design of the scheme with architect PRP and will appoint a delivery partner ahead of a planning application.

Housing Today (11/04/2022)  

UK house prices rose 10.9% year-on-year in February, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show. This is up from a 10.2% increase in January. February's increase exceeded forecasts, with analysts predicting a 10.1% rise. Prices were up 0.8% month-on-month, following a 1.1% monthly rise in January. The increase recorded in February took the average house price to £277,000, with this  £27,000 higher compared to the same month in 2021. House prices in England grew by 10.7% to an average of £296,000 in February. Wales reported a 14.2% rise to £205,000, while prices increased by 11.7% to £181,000 in Scotland and by 7.9% to £159,000 in Northern Ireland. The ONS data also shows that the private rental prices increased by 2.4% in the 12 months to March, with the increase hitting 3.3% if London is excluded. In related news, London house prices grew at an annual rate of 7.4% in the first quarter of this year, up from 4.8% in the same period last year and the fastest rate since 2016, according to the mortgage provider Nationwide. 

City AM (13/04/2022)   Daily Mail (13/04/2022)   Financial Times (11/04/2022)   The Independent (13/04/2022)  

The number of buyers and home owners searching for a mortgage hit a record high in March, according to analysis by Twenty7Tec, a mortgage data firm. It recorded almost 1.6m mortgage searches last month, 60,000 more than at the time of the original stamp duty tax break deadline in March 2021. Almost 60% of borrowers searching for a loan were buyers, while the remainder were remortgaging. Nathan Reilly, of Twenty7Tec, said: "Inflation-driven rate rises are driving remortgage search volumes higher than predicted at the start of the year... Even the purchase market remains buoyant in the face of wider macro economic uncertainty." Mortgage searches grew fastest in the £250,000 to £500,000 range in March, up 14.6% month-on-month, according to Twenty7Tec. But house price inflation has meant more demand for mortgages to buy properties priced at £1m and above. Almost one in 20 mortgage searches is now for a house valued above £1m. 

The Daily Telegraph (09/04/2022)