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Of the 17m people renting homes in Britain, over two-thirds now say they have no plans to purchase a property in their lifetimes. Some 20% of those surveyed by Direct Line said that they do not want the financial commitment of owning a property, while another 20% claims that the cost and effort of maintaining a property is off-putting. Just less than 20% said they wanted the freedom to travel and did not wish to be tied to one place. Research by new home builder Strataclaims that a lifetime of renting a home will cost £1m more than buying one.
The Independent (24/06/2018)
The Greater London Assembly is set to put a planning framework for the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar up for public consultation. The plans cover the 23 years to 2041, setting out the Mayor of London’s mission to ensure that local services and infrastructure will be able to cope with the projected population explosion. Tower Hamlets deputy mayor Rachel Blake said: “This is the last chance to influence the GLA’s plans. The Isle of Dogs and South Poplar are experiencing huge development -we must get the balance right between investing in our existing communities and preparing for new ones, sharing the benefits of growth”. The framework will be launched at the Museum of London Docklands on June 26th, with public drop-in events throughout the summer.
East London Advertiser (19/06/2018)
L&Q has a range of one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments for private sale at its New Union Wharf development on the Isle of Dogs, overlooking the Greenwich Peninsula and just a 20-minute walk from Canary Wharf. The homes were designed to maximise natural light, and have open-plan kitchens with integrated appliances, while bathrooms feature light grey porcelain tiled flooring and tiled bath and shower walls. The immediate environs incorporate shared podium courtyards, family-friendly play areas, and landscaped gardens, while Mudchute Park and Farm is less than a mile away, set with 30 acres of countryside. Prices start at £475,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.
The Wharf (15/06/2018)
For the first time since 2011 the total value of the UK’s housing market has dropped. In the year to December 2017 the market lost £1.2bn in value, falling to a total of £259bn. The number of transactions dropped by 3.8% in England and Wales in 2017 to 884,329 – the lowest level since 2013. Every type of property recorded a fall in the number of sales, apart from semi-detached houses. Transactions rose very slightly for this property type, by around 5,000. Meanwhile transactions for flats and maisonettes dropped by 12.7%, or close to 20,000. The ONS statistics also revealed the regional differences: Barnet has had the highest median house price for 10 of the last 22 years (£7,775,000), compared to that of County Durham and Sunderland of just £24,000, while London had all 41 of the postcodes in the analysis in which houses fetched a median price of £2m or over.
The Daily Telegraph (20/06/2018) The Times (20/06/2018)
Latest figures from UK Finance show mortgage lending in the UK increased considerably in April. There were some 26,700 new first-time buyer mortgages worth £4.4bn completed in the month, 3.5% more than in the same month a year earlier. Remortgaging also increased, with new homeowner mortgages up 36% to £7.5bn and buy-to-let remortgages up 32.4%. However, mortgages for second steppers were down 4.2% in the period to £5.4bn of new lending. UK Finance explained remortgaging activity bouncing back due to customers locking into attractive fixed-rate deals ahead of an anticipated interest rate rise.
City AM (14/06/2018) The Times (14/06/2018)
Santander research reveals that owning a home is cheaper than renting in all areas of the UK, with the average first-time buyer likely to save more than £2,250 a year when they switch from renting to ownership. The average UK rent stands at £912 per month, while first-time buyers are paying mortgages of an average £723. However, the average required deposit of £51,000 is a roadblock between many renters and the property ladder, the report notes.
Daily Mirror (19/06/2018)