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16th February 2018
Nationwide has revealed that it has seen a dip in mortgage lending and warns that the housing market is showing signs of slowing down. The building society saw £4.7bn of net lending to home buyers in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 43% decline on the £8.2bn lent in Q4 2016. Nationwide chief executive Joe Garner said he expected house prices to be “broadly flat in 2018” or show “a marginal gain of around 1%”. He added: “Modest economic growth is also likely to hold back the housing market and house price growth”.
The Daily Telegraph (09/02/2018)
16th February 2018
One in seven younger Brits would buy a house with a complete stranger, according to a survey by HSBC, which also revealed 83% of 18 to 40 year-olds believed that they will never be able afford a home on their own. Chris Pearson from HSBC said: "Buying a home is a life-changing financial commitment and there’s no doubt this is an unorthodox way of doing it. People who are considering this step need to not only find someone responsible and compatible to avoid a difficult situation in the future".
Daily Mail (14/02/2018)
9th February 2018
Transport for London is seeking a development partner to transform the Limmo Peninsula, an Elizabeth Line tunnelling site close to Canning Town tube station, into a 1,500-home neighbourhood. Six hundred of the new homes will be “genuinely affordable, Mayor Sadiq Khan said at the launch. Graeme Craig, director of commercial development at TfL, said: “This is the biggest site yet that we’ve released to our Property Partnership Framework and is a great example of a high-density development enabled by excellent transport links. Limmo Peninsula will make a significant contribution to meeting London’s demand for more affordable homes”.
Property Week (06/02/2018) Inside Housing (06/02/2018)
9th February 2018
Mayor London Sadiq Khan says he will offer residents of the capital’s housing estates a greater say on regeneration plans. His Better Homes for Local People guide says mandatory ballots of residents will be a strict condition of City Hall funding. Mr Khan commented: “We need more social housing in London, not less”, adding that he intends to ensure estate regeneration projects “protect existing social housing and take every opportunity to build more”.
Evening Standard (02/02/2018)
9th February 2018
The number of homes sold in the most expensive postcodes of London fell by 3.6% last year compared with 2016, according to property data provider Lonres, particularly in homes priced below £2m. Estate agents also reported an increase in the number of viewings and the amount of time a property spent on the market, while about 60% more properties were withdrawn from sale than in the previous year. The most common reason was cited as the inability to reach a price that that suited homeowners.
The Times (05/02/2018)
9th February 2018
UK house prices fell for a second consecutive month in January, leaving the average price of a home at £223,285, a dip of 0.6% according to the Halifax. Prices fell 0.8% in December, stunting annual house price growth to 2.2%, its slowest rate in six months. Howard Archer, chief economic adviser at EY Item Club, said: "The latest Halifax data reinforces our belief that 2018 will be a difficult year for the housing market and price gains over the year will be limited to a modest 2%”.
The Daily Telegraph (07/02/2018)