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Britain’s biggest banks, including RBS, HSBC, TSB and Nationwide, are preparing to sell risky mortgages and loans to freelancers and gig economy workers. The lending push includes launching the first ever mortgages specifically designed for workers in the gig economy and those on zero-hour contracts. According to the Mail on Sunday, the banks are working on new ways to assess the creditworthiness of these customers in order to offer loans safely. Digital bank Tandem also hopes to launch a mortgage designed for the gig economy next year.
The Mail on Sunday (08/12/2019)
Bounded by Canary Wharf and London City airport, Silvertown is at the heart of a £3.5 billion regeneration programme that’s set to transform the district, dominated on the riverside by the vast Tate & Lyle sugar refinery, into a glittering hub for businesses, along with thousands of new homes. A new bridge across Royal Docks will link with Custom House station and Crossrail, while a tunnel under the Thames will connect with Greenwich. Shared-ownership apartments are available now at The Refinery, Southern Housing Group’s new development close to the Thames Barrier Park, starting at £120,750 for a one-bed, and from £157,500 for a two-bed home.
Evening Standard (03/12/2019)
Rockwell has announced Gateway Housing Association as its partner to deliver affordable homes at its landmark development at 82 West India Dock Road in Westferry - a 30-storey hotel and residential building adjacent to Westferry DLR station that will deliver 259 jobs and 66 new homes of which 35% will be affordable. Kate Dodsworth, chief executive at Gateway Housing Association, added: “There’s a real need for more homes within Tower Hamlets as the demand continues to greatly outstrip the supply.” Work on the 82 West India Dock Road development is due to start shortly and will be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
PBC Today (05/12/2019)
Grainger has agreed to forward fund a 132-home development at the Hallsville Quarter in Canning Town for around £55.5m. Construction is due to begin in late 2021, with completion anticipated in 2024. Grainger chief executive Helen Gordon said: “The Canning Town area is undergoing significant regeneration, and we know from our experience with Argo Apartments that this is a very popular location to live, with such great access to the wider city. Upon completion of this project, Grainger’s east London cluster will comprise 748 purpose-built homes, providing scale and operational efficiencies.”
Development Finance Today (29/11/2019)
The Sunday Times’ Oliver Shah argues that the London property market may be on the verge of bouncing back after a long period of stagnation. He quotes Berkeley Group founder Tony Pidgley, who believes the market is set for recovery, arguing that London was now cheap compared with other global cities, and that super-low interest rates, plus intense competition from lenders, would keep mortgages flowing. Additionally, Alastair Stewart at Shore Capital has turned bullish, citing a sharp rise in estate agents expecting price growth over the next 12 months (from -4.8% in September to 29.1% in October); and an improvement in the London price index.
The Sunday Times (01/12/2019)
New Bank of England figures reveal that banks and building societies made 64,602 approvals for mortgages in October ahead of the postponed Oct 31 departure date for leaving the European Union. That was 2% lower than the previous month and the weakest since March. Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: “October’s drop in mortgage approvals looks like the type of stutter usually seen before general elections. We expect approvals to rebound in the first quarter, when political uncertainty should have declined.” The average rate on new mortgages is 1.96%, compared to the 2.39% average on existing home loans.
The Daily Telegraph (29/11/2019)