Docklands News

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has warned that the soaring cost of construction materials is slowing house-building progress in the capital. Government data shows prices for materials, including steel, timber, and concrete, shot up 23% last year. Mayor Khan said one development in south east London has experienced costs rising 45% based on tender returns. He wants the Government to issue more grant funding for affordable housing as London councils and housing associations face added pressures. 

City AM (28/01/2022)  

Nationwide has reported the strongest start to the year for house prices in 17 years, with chief economist Robert Gardner noting that “Housing demand has remained robust." He continued: "Mortgage approvals for house purchase have continued to run slightly above pre-pandemic levels,” with the average price of a home now standing at £255,556. He added that “at the same time, the stock of homes on estate agents' books has remained extremely low, which is contributing to the continued robust pace of house price growth".

The Times (01/02/2022)  

The number of home buyers taking out 10-year mortgages has jumped by 216% since December, according to analysis by Twenty7Tec, a mortgage data firm. This trend towards longer-term loans has continued at the start of this week, the firm added, as buyers rushed to lock in cheap rates. Compared to last year, Twenty7Tec said the number of buyers taking out 10-year loans had increased by 150%. The surge in demand meant 10-year loans accounted for 4.5% of the mortgage market in the last week of January. This was nearly triple the rate recorded this time last year. 

The Daily Telegraph (01/02/2022)  

Fears among property experts of homebuyers flocking to the country in the post-pandemic era have been proven unfounded, new data suggests. According to a white paper, entitled COVID City Exodus: Reality or Urban Myth, sales in urban areas are now 7% ahead of those in rural or country areas. It comes after successive COVID lockdowns sparked a "race for space", causing property purchases in the countryside to outstrip urban sales by 10% in the second half of 2020. However this dropped to 4% in the first half of 2021, before disappearing altogether during the last six months of the year. Bob Pannell, author of the paper and an economist with Atelier, writes: "The most recent data debunks the myth that Britain's cities are in decline. There is little evidence of the paradigm shift in housing preferences supposed by many". The report predicts sustained growth in the urban housing markets for 2022. 

Daily Mail (28/01/2022)  

Developers want to revive HOK’s stalled Spire London skyscraper, previously known as Hertsmere House, which faced a backlash four years ago after it was revealed the design included only one fire escape stair to its upper floors. Shanghai-based Greenland Group has submitted plans to remove all 96 homes from the tower, at West India Quay, in a bid to ‘unlock the viability’ of the scheme. An additional 60 affordable homes it had promised to build at nearby Limehouse will still go ahead, according to an application lodged with Tower Hamlets Council. The site, near Grade I-listed docks buildings by George Gwilt the Younger, formerly housed a low-rise 1980s office development. In addition to its new homes and 941 sq m of commercial space, the building will feature communal amenity pavilions for residents that will be connected to the tower by glass winter gardens, landscaped roof terraces, public open spaces, and both internal and outdoor children’s play areas.

Architects' Journal (25/01/2022)  

IPE Developments has secured a £15.5m loan from Global Growth Capital (GGC) against 41 homes across two developments in east London. The first, in Walthamstow, is for 18 private homes plus a 2,034 sq ft commercial space, while the second, in Poplar, is a residential scheme over four floors with seven one-bedroom flats, 15 two-bedroom flats and one three-bedroom flat. The full planning consent is for the restoration and conversion of a grade-II listed building built in 1873, which was severely damaged by fire in 2007, and the development of an adjacent new building. The property is next to Bartlett Park, between Limehouse Cut and the Isle of Dogs.

Property Week (25/01/2022)