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The number of affordable homes projects started under Greater London Authority (GLA) programmes was down by 23% last year as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted construction. Despite the decline, City Hall said the number of starts in 2020/21 exceeds the annual target agreed with government at the start of the pandemic. A total of 13,318 affordable homes were started in 2020/21, compared with 17,256 in 2019/20. A further 2,600 open-market sale homes were started under GLA programmes in 2020/21, bringing the total number of homes started to 15,918, a 24% drop on the previous year. Social rent made up the largest share of homes built under GLA programmes last year, accounting for 6,162 (39%) of the total. The number of affordable completions across the capital rose by 16%, to 9,051, in 2020/21. |
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Halifax has reported that house prices are up 8.2% in the last 12 months, increasing at the fastest pace since 2016, with the average selling price at a record high of just over £258,000. On a monthly basis, prices increased by 1.4% or nearly £3,600 between March and April. Russell Galley, the lender’s managing director commented: “The stamp duty holiday continues to add impetus to an extremely active market, magnifying the current shortage of available homes as buyers aim to take advantage of the government scheme”. He continued: “The influence of the stamp duty holiday will fade gradually over the coming months as it’s tapered out but low stock levels, low interest rates and continued demand is likely to continue to underpin prices in the market”. |
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BBC News (10/05/2021) City AM (10/05/2021) The Times (10/05/2021) |
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Britain’s booming property market is seeing record sales figures, with an average of 13 buyers for every home that gets listed, according to NAEA Propertymark. Agreed sales last month were up 57% compared with April 2019, and experts said the industry was working around the clock, while buyers were resorting to extreme measures to secure a home. Mark Hayward, chief policy adviser at estate agents' lobby group NAEA Propertymark, said: “It's quite aggressive out there. We've got instances where prospective buyers have actually followed agents in cars to properties so they can be the first in line". |
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The easing of lockdown helped Britain’s construction sector to expand at a near record pace last month, an industry survey suggests. IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector came in at 61.6 in April, down slightly from 61.7 in March but still considerably above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. “The UK construction sector is experiencing its strongest growth phase for six and a half years, with the recovery now evenly balanced across the house building, commercial and civil engineering categories,” Tim Moore, economics director at IHS Markit, said. New orders rose at their fastest pace since September 2014 as the end of lockdown spurred contract awards on previously delayed commercial development projects. |
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Daily Mail (07/05/2021) Evening Standard (07/05/2021) The Guardian (07/05/2021) The Times (07/05/2021) |
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UK house prices rose by 7.1% compared with a year ago, Nationwide has said, prompting one analyst to suggest the market is "on the boil". The building society said the average property price had risen by £15,916 in the last year, to reach £238,831. Nationwide said increased savings during lockdown meant some first-time buyers would be better placed to afford a home. The lender also forecast that annual house price growth will reach double digits by this summer, if prices hold steady over the next couple of months. |
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Buyers face an average premium of £63,000 to live in a newly built home. The property analysts TwentyCi found that people will pay an average of £316,000 for a new property compared to £253,000 for an equivalent resale property, a premium of about 25%. Paula Higgins, chief executive of the Homeowners Alliance, warned that a new house depreciated "the minute you turn the key in the door. Even in a rising property market you may not get your money back if you have to sell within a year or two." |