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10th February 2017
A new report by the National Housing Federation shows that to purchase the average London property by 2021 savers will need to save £2,300 a month – starting now. The federation suggests that a prospective buyer would need a household income of almost £130,000 a year to make buying a home in the capital a realistic option.
Evening Standard (07/02/2017)
10th February 2017
Annual growth in house prices slowed in January and the trend is expected to continue throughout 2017, according to the Halifax, which said that property prices rose by 5.7% in the year to the end of January, slower than the 6.5% annual growth seen the previous month, leaving the typical home valued at £220,260. It noted that prices fell 0.9% in January – a dip of £2,000 – compared to December’s 1.6% increase. Martin Ellis, Halifax’s housing economist, said that the annual rate of growth remained "robust" due to an "ongoing shortage of property for sale, low levels of housebuilding, and exceptionally low interest rates."
The Daily Telegraph (07/02/2017)
3rd February 2017
LBS Properties has secured a £135m senior development loan from ICG-Longbow to fund the construction of The Madison, a 53-storey residential tower at Marsh Wall, near Canary Wharf. Designed by Make Architects, the 187m hexagonal structure will house 423 luxury flats, 104 of them classed as affordable. Piling works are already underway, with the excavation of the basement and construction of the main concrete frame soon to begin. South Quay DLR station offers easy access to the City, while the Canary Wharf Crossrail station will provide a direct link to the West End and Heathrow Airport from 2018. The entire project is due for completion in 2020, with the development now over 35% sold.
Property Week (27/01/2017) Construction Enquirer (02/02/2017)
3rd February 2017
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has unveiled Peninsula Place, the centrepiece of a massive new development by Knight Dragon in North Greenwich that will bring 15,000 homes to the area. The 1.4m sq ft structure, designed by Santiago Calatrava, rises to 30 storeys, with its three towers filled with flats, hotel rooms, offices, shops, a theatre, cinema and a performance venue. Mr Khan said “This is an exciting regeneration project. You’ll have genuinely affordable homes for Londoners side by side with market value and high-end homes as well”, before going on to add: “The three words that are proved by this exciting regeneration project are: ‘London is open’”.
Evening Standard (02/02/2017) The Wharf (02/02/2017)
3rd February 2016
The Bank of England's mortgage borrowing hit a nine-month high in December. At 67,898, the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases increased 10.7% from the low (61,335) it hit in August. Remortgaging hit its highest level for eight years, with 47,721 approvals made. In total in December, there were 128,823 mortgage approvals, with a total value of £21bn. Jeremy Duncombe, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “It is particularly encouraging to see so many savvy borrowers taking the initiative and saving themselves a potentially significant sum of money by swapping their existing mortgage deal”.
City AM (31/01/2017)
3rd February 2017
Two property companies have announced plans to build around 500 homes in London. Telford Homes hopes to build up to 200 homes on the former London Electricity Board HQ development site near Bethnal Green tube station in east London, while Redrow has bought a site in Southall in west London where consent is in place for 302 luxury flats.
Evening Standard (01/02/2017) The Times (01/02/2017)