Docklands News

New planning laws have been promised that will block the development of “ugly” buildings as ministers reverse plans to limit the power of local residents to veto development. The new housing secretary, Michael Gove, is understood to have ordered a review of the planning reforms and has scrapped proposals to limit the power of local planning committees to block housebuilding. Mr Gove is also said to want to make housing companies pay more to local communities to improve amenities in areas where development takes place. Last month ministers signalled the start of a retreat from what had been billed as the biggest shake-up of planning law in 70 years, designed to help reach a target of 300,000 new homes a year. Government sources said the upcoming planning bill was likely to be much less radical than previously envisaged and could amount to little more than a "tidying up exercise" of the present rules. "There is always a danger with planning reforms that you actually slow down the pace of development because builders are waiting for the new rules to come into place," one said. 

The Times (04/10/2021)  

London remains the UK’s primary focus for property investors, according to research from FJP Investment. It found that 40% of those planning on purchasing a property in the next 12 months are considering investing in the capital. The West Midlands was the next most likely destination for buyers, with 32% citing it, while East of England ranked third, drawing the interest of 26% of potential investors. The study also reveals that 44% of UK property investors are now more inclined to consider investing in properties in rural areas than they were pre-pandemic. Of the 512 investors polled, 44% intend to expand their property portfolio in the coming year.

City A.M.  

House sellers in London are feeling increasingly confident as the number of sellers willing to drop their asking prices fell last month. There was a 51% decrease in the number of home-sellers being prepared to drop their asking prices in August, compared to July. Chesterstons said a return of seller confidence was likely to lead to London's property prices rising. August sales were up 54% on July, thanks to a growing demand from buyers, the agency said. Chestertons found that buyer enquiries were up 18.2% with viewings up 8.6% compared to the five-year average performance for the month of August. London boroughs that experienced high demand from buyers included Islington, Fulham, Canary Wharf and Battersea.

City A.M.  

Around £21.4bn is generated in rental income in London alone, which equates to some 4.3% of the city’s GDP, according to new research from Sequre Property Investment. It found that the capital topped the list as the region with the highest rents and the most privately rented homes. Across the UK, the average tenant pays £12,636 in rent each year, equating to total rental income in excess of £69.4bn across the 2.2m privately rented homes, worth 3.2% of the country’s total GDP. Since the third quarter of this year, London rents have begun to climb again and are back up to 2019 levels and in some areas, maybe slightly higher.

City A.M.  

Data from Nationwide shows that UK house price growth slowed in September, with the average price up by just 0.1% over the month, with this far lower than the growth of 2% recorded in August. The month-on-month increase means the average price hit £248,742 last month. The report also shows that annual house price growth in September came in at 10%, down from 11% in August. Wales and Northern Ireland were the strongest performing parts of the UK, while London was the weakest. In Wales, property prices have risen over 15% in the past year. Meanwhile, London saw annual growth slowing to 4.2%. England saw a slowing in annual house price growth to 8.5%, from 9.9% in the second quarter. Property price growth in northern England continued to exceed that in southern England. Reflecting on the data, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, noted the impact of the tapering stamp duty holiday, adding that “activity is likely to soften” now the tax break has been withdrawn.

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Research by Hamptons suggests house price growth will slow over the next four years but average prices will still be 13.5% higher by the end of 2024. Aneisha Beveridge, head of research, believes a second wave of lockdown-fuelled demand will keep price growth above pre-pandemic levels over the next two years but by 2024 the average growth rate will dip to 2.5%. Hamptons believes a new “house price cycle” will start after that, saying that while historically, “the beginning of a new cycle has been synonymous with a sharp price correction”, in this instance “we’re more likely to see a continuation of modest price growth... rather than a boom followed by a bust.” The report also suggest UK house prices will be 4.5% higher at the end of 2021 than at the start of the year, with a rise of 3.5% forecast for 2022. However, it notes that this figure will mask widespread regional variations, with London set to underperform compared to the rest of the country and the market more buoyant in the north. 

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