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Residents in two east London tower blocks, Treves House and Lister House, are celebrating a Tower Hamlets Council U-turn that will save the buildings from demolition. Mayor John Biggs confirmed that plans to demolish the 1950s towers had been shelved. A new expert report into options for the blocks had proposed a £1.8m plan to refurbish them, with new roofs and windows being the main work needed.
The Guardian
Housebuyers are prepared to pay up to £15,000 for a garden when purchasing a property, according to Zoopla. The online platform found that prospective buyers put the importance of outside space on the same level as a top-end kitchen or bathroom, with a further 40% even saying they would consider hiring a professional garden designer in order to transform their outside space. Gardens are considered to be so important that 74% of homeowners have either already spent money on their outside space or would consider doing so in a bid to increase the value of their property.
Zoopla (14/08/2019)
Old Kent Road – the least desirable square on the Monopoly board – is at the heart of a £10bn makeover. A study of the area in south-east London has identified more than 40 major planned developments that will transform a two-mile urban stretch over the next decade. Chief executive Richard Kalmar said that while “it may be a while before Old Kent Road replaces Mayfair on the Monopoly board” the area has “unrivalled potential”.
Homes and Property (14/08/2019)
The Mayor of London is considering a radical overhaul of planning rules that would make green space as vital as access to water or energy. Sadiq Khan has signalled he will support a scheme by the Fabian Society that demands that future developments should guarantee that every resident is no more than 1,000m away from green land not covered in concrete or tarmac. A new report from the society shows that a fifth of London is more than a kilometre from areas of nature, despite the fact that green space accounts for nearly half of the city (47%).
The Independent (07/08/2019)
West Ham United has topped Britain’s property “Premier League” with house prices in the area around its stadium in Stratford soaring almost 850% in the last 22 years. Property values in the postcodes around the London Stadium at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park averaged £440,474 last year compared with just £46,448 in 1997. All 10 of the best-performing “football postcodes” are in London, according to brokers Pure Commercial Finance, with Manchester City best of the rest in 11th place. The highest property prices of any professional football clubs are those around Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium, where the market is up 542% from an average of £404,844 to just over £2.6m.
Evening Standard (07/08/2019)
The housing market is "pretty much flatlining" amid growing concerns about Brexit and political uncertainty, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' said in its report for July. Some 69% of property professionals said that sales prices were coming in below asking prices for homes marketed at more than £1m. Meanwhile for properties on the market for up to £500,000, 59% of surveyors reported that sales prices were at least level with asking prices. A net balance of 9% of surveyors reported house prices falling rather than increasing.
City AM (07/08/2019)