23rd March 2018
Mortgages most affordable in a decade
Mortgage payments reached their most affordable levels in over four years in the last three months of 2017, analysis has found. Typical mortgage payments accounted for less than a third (29%) of homeowners’ disposable income in the period, compared with nearly half (48%) in 2007, Halifax said, driven by historically low mortgage rates. Borrowers at the end of last year were repaying on average £669 a month from a £2,309 take-home wage. Mortgage payments as a proportion of disposable earnings are the highest in the country in London, at 45%.
The Guardian (16/03/2018) The Independent (16/03/2018)
16th March 2018
Telford Homes has launched its latest seven-star development – four luxurious penthouses at Manhattan Plaza in Poplar, just a 10-minute walk from Canary Wharf. Residents at the development, which was designed by Barton Willmore architects, benefit from a 24-hour concierge service, a residents’ gym, and a landscaped piazza, as well as two rooftop terraces. David Campbell, Telford’s group sales and marketing director, said of the home ready for viewing now: “It’s also ideally located close to Canary Wharf, providing it with some of the most beautiful views in London”. Prices start from £897,500.
The Wharf (10/03/2018)
16th March 2018
Barking and Dagenham Council has unveiled a £2bn plan to transform the east London town into a "mini-Manhattan", with 6,000 homes, skyscrapers and five acres of green space dubbed "Central Bark". Council leader Darren Rodwell said: "The fact is we led London and the country on new-build 100 years ago with the Becontree estate, which everyone else followed. That's what we are going to do again now."
Evening Standard (14/03/2018)
16th March 2018
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has warned that London could see a brain drain due to a shortage of housing, telling City AM: “The biggest issue raised to me by chief executives and other employers is the housing crisis - the fact that they can't get staff in London because of the cost of housing.”
City AM (12/03/2018)
16th March 2018
Figures from Acadata shows that the average price of a London home fell to £593,396 in January, a year-on-year dip of 2.6%. The decline is the biggest since that recorded in August 2009. Values in the capital were down 0.8% in January. Nationally prices rose 0.5% on the month during February to £299,556 but growth slowed year-on-year – hitting 0.6% compared to January’s 0.7%.
The Independent (12/03/2018)
161th March 2018
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) believes there should be a reclassification of derelict land in the green belt to provide housing for emergency service workers. Responding to Mayor Sadiq Khan's draft London Plan, the body highlighted 329 hectares of brownspace land which it says could be used to build 20,000 homes.
City AM (12/03/2018)