020 7538 0102
31st March 2017
Sadiq Khan has warned that new tall buildings must enhance the capital’s skyline rather than blight it. The Mayor of London also stressed that key criteria for residential tower blocks should be that they help to tackle the city’s housing crisis, not provide investment opportunities. Daniel Astaire, Westminster Council's cabinet member for planning and public realm, has said he is “open to taller and higher buildings as a matter of policy” but insisted on “appropriate buildings in appropriate places”.
Evening Standard (28/03/2017)
31st March 2017
The average deposit put down by a first-time buyer in London has soared from £57,393 to £87,853 over five years, according to Lloyds Bank data, which also shows that the cost of an average first home in the capital has hit £405,106. Nationwide, Lloyds said, the average deposit is £37,570. The average first-time buyer's mortgage in the capital is £317,253 - up from £185,538 in 2012 and almost twice the UK average for a new first-time buyer, which stands at £168,296.
Independent I (29/03/2017)
31st March 2017
Mortgage approvals fell to 42,613 in February, down by 4.6% on the figure recorded in February 2016, according to figures from the British Bankers' Association. Remortgaging also dropped off to 25,414, 9.5% lower than the 28,088 approved in January. Gross mortgage borrowing hit £13.4bn, up 4.6% year-on-year. By value, the average new loan rose to £185,800, from £180,900 as house prices continue to climb.
City AM (24/03/2017)
24th March 2017
The Standard takes a look at Royal Wharf, Ballymore Group and Oxley’s 38-acre, 3,500-home development in Silvertown, between the Thames and the North Woolwich Road. The first residents moved in last year, and will be joined by an estimated 20,000 more over the next five years, lured by its Bloomsbury-modelled neighbourhoods, proximity to Canary Wharf, and the Elizabeth Line, which opens next year. New studio flats can be picked up for £325,000, while one-bedroom apartments start from £364,000. However, shared ownership is being offered on properties in the Trader’s Quarter, where a 30% share of a one-bed flat can be had for £115,000, going up to £164,375 for a quarter-share of a three-bed apartment.
Evening Standard (23/03/2017)
24th March 2017
Analysis by US apartment search site RentCafe indicates that among the globe’s top financial cities, London's average rents remain among the most affordable. RentCafe found that average rent prices for one-bedroom flats between 600 and 999 sq ft cost $1,650 (£1330) in London – but would set a New Yorker back double the amount at $3,680. Overall, 19 other cities had more expensive rent than London. The cheapest of European financial hubs is Munich, with average rents at $1,110, with Casablanca coming in as the cheapest globally, at $820.
City AM (20/03/2017)
24th March 2017
House price growth in the UK was 6.2% in the year to January, higher than the growth recorded in December, but still below the 2016 average of 7.4%, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. The average house price in January reached £218,000, up by £13,000 from the year before, and £1,000 higher than December's average.. In London, the average came in at £491,000.
The Daily Telegraph (21/03/2017)