Docklands News

ONS data show London’s economic output grew 1.2% in the first three months of 2022 compared with the previous quarter - the highest of any UK region and outstripping the national average of 0.8%. 

Financial Times (07/06/2022)  

Developer Mount Anvil is set to get the go-ahead for updated plans for an Isle of Dogs regeneration scheme, drawn up by architects HTA Design. The developer previously obtained consent to deliver a 26-storey tower and low-rise houses and flats on a site bounded by Byng Street and Manilla Street on the Isle of Dogs last year. That scheme required the demolition of 24 houses and flats currently on the 0.3ha site south of Canary Wharf, and would have delivered 148 new properties. However, updated proposals recommended by Tower Hamlets planning officers increase the height of the tower to 31 storeys and deliver a total of 202 new homes – including replacement properties for those currently on the L-shaped sites. Tower Hamlets’ strategic development committee meets from 6.30pm on 8 June to consider the application.

Housing Today (31/05/2022)  

The Help to Buy property subsidy scheme is to close for applications six months early at the end of October. The final applications for loans will be accepted in October, with all of them to be processed over the following five months. A government source said the October deadline would allow enough time for customers to legally complete the purchase of their home before the scheme is wound up at the end of March.  

The Sunday Telegraph (29/05/2022)  

The number of mortgages approved by UK lenders has fallen to its lowest since June 2020, with 65,974 mortgages approved in April. This was down from 69,531 in March and 73,220 in January. The figures from the Bank of England also show that net mortgage borrowing dropped to £4.1bn last month from £6.4bn in March. Mortgage approvals for house purchases also fell, from 69,500 to 66,000. The average rate for a new mortgage rose to 1.82% in April, up from 1.5% in December after the Bank of England raised interest rates four times over the period to reach a 13-year high of 1%. Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said the figures showed slowing demand, adding that he expects housing market activity to continue to cool through 2022, with price growth “decelerating.” 

Financial Times (31/05/2022)   The Daily Telegraph (31/05/2022)   The Guardian (31/05/2022)   The Times (31/05/2022)  

Self-employed people are twice as likely to have mortgage applications rejected compared to salaried employees, new research from The Mortgage Lender has shown. The specialist home loan provider said 23% of self-employed individuals had had a mortgage application denied in the past, compared to just 12% of salaried workers. 'There are around 4.2m self-employed people in the UK, and it is typical for that number to grow when coming out of a recession, or in this case a pandemic also,” commented Peter Beaumont, chief executive at The Mortgage Lender. “While it may offer those workers more freedom, the major drawback of self-employment is the perception of income inconsistency, and consequently a greater challenge when it comes to borrowing large sums of money.” 

Daily Mail (28/05/2022)  

Nationwide has warned that house prices may cool this year as the rising cost of living puts pressure on people’s finances. The building society said that while house prices have been increasing at double-digit rates so far this year, they could start falling again. “Higher property prices and interest rates, together with steep increases in the cost of living, mean housing has become less affordable and we expect housing market activity to slow and the rate of house price growth to moderate in the coming quarters,” it said in an update on Friday. “There is a risk of a downward movement in house prices, given the pressure on household budgets.” Inflation reached a 40-year high in the year to April, hitting 9% as measured by the Consumer Prices Index. There is a risk of a downward movement in house prices, given the pressure on household budgets. Although unemployment remains low, this is still squeezing household budgets very hard, especially among those on lower incomes who were unable to save, or saved less, during the pandemic. “We will continue to plan for geopolitical risks and economic pressures arising directly and indirectly from the war in Ukraine, notably the rising energy bills and inflation, which are intensifying pressure on household budgets, which are already under strain,” said chairman Kevin Parry. 

The Independent (21/05/2022)