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House prices are growing at the slowest annual pace since May 2013, Nationwide has announced, due to uncertainty about the economy and dampened demand from squeezed household budgets. Growth fell from 2% in September to 1.6% in October, putting the average UK house price at £214,534, down from £214,922 last month.
The Daily Telegraph (01/11/2018) Evening Standard (01/11/2018)
The Help to Buy equity loan scheme, which offers a 20% government loan (40% in London) to buyers of new-build properties, has been extended to 2023 and the upper price cap for a property to be eligible for the scheme will increase. The Government will have lent £22bn under the scheme to 360,000 homeowners by April 2021. Budget documents said: "The Government does not intend to introduce a further Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme after March 2023". For the final two years of the scheme, the government will invest another £7.2bn in equity loans to homebuyers, but will restrict the scheme to first-time buyers and cap the prices of the homes that can be bought using its state-backed equity loans.
The Daily Telegraph (29/10/2018)
Upton Gardens, an 842 unit mixed-tenure development of private sale and affordable housing has been launched on the site of West Ham’s former Boleyn Ground in East London. Part of the wider regeneration of the Newham area, the architecture of the site fits the layout of the stadium that hosted West Ham for over 110 years before the club’s move to the London Stadium in Stratford. Prices start at £325,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, rising to £399,000 for a two-bed and £490,000 for a three-bedroom property.
Planning & Building Control Today (22/10/2018)
House sales in central London have dropped to a record low as buyers are deterred by high stamp duty, according to an analysis by London Central Portfolio. Just 70 properties are being sold each week – down 16.8% on last year. There are now fewer homes selling than at the height of the financial crisis in 2009. Experts blamed steep hikes to stamp duty for putting off buyers, who are unwilling to fork out hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax.
Daily Mail (22/10/2018)
New research by Direct Line has revealed a huge gulf between the average price of building a home and its market value. It calculated that in London, while the average price of a three-bed house is £647,571, the price to rebuild it is just £205,000, meaning there is a 216% premium for the land it stands on and its location. Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh and Norwich had the highest premiums after the capital. It was lowest in the North East.
The Daily Telegraph (19/10/2018)
A new European economic index from Lasalle Investment Management has found that London has the best economic prospects of any big European city despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit. Mahdi Mokrane, head of European research and strategy at Lasalle, said that London attracted talent “due to its unique mix of business-friendliness and strong human capital”.
The Times (21/10/2018)