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23rd December 2016
Nationwide Building Society has said house price growth is likely to slow to around 2% next year due to Brexit-related uncertainty. Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner, said a small gain is more likely than an overall decline in values as “low interest rates are expected to help underpin demand while a shortage of homes on the market will continue to provide support.” Nationwide’s latest measure of house prices showed a 4.6% year-on-year rise in house prices in the 12 months to October.
Daily Mail (19/12/2016)
23rd December 2016
Beijing has topped the latest Schroders Global Cities Index rising, from its previous fourth place. It was followed by fellow Chinese cities Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin, with New York making up the top five. The index ranks cities according to their future prospects and desirability of real estate. London is the only city outside China and the US to make it into the top 10, jumping two places to number eight. This was partly down to the combination of high demand alongside Green Belt planning rules that limit supply and increase the value of existing real estate, Schroders Global Cities Real Estate noted.
Daily Mail (16/12/2016)
16th December 2016
Thousands of civil servants are to move to a new Canary Wharf hub currently occupied by Barclays, as both the Government and the bank look to reduce costs. Almost 6k Whitehall employees will be transferred to the 11 storey office by the end of 2018 as part of a government wide drive to reduce costs by renting more modern buildings in cheaper locations. Barclays agreement to assign its lease for 10 South Colonnade is expected to save the bank £35m a year in rent.
The Daily Telegraph (13/12/2016) Financial Times (13/12/2016)
16th December 2017
London workers are increasingly opting to reduce commuting times and improve quality of life by moving to areas with a more reasonable distance to the workplace. While Zone 1 is outside the budget of most buyers Zone 2 properties are more affordable with Whitechapel, Haggerston, Mile End and Rotherhithe also being outside the congestion charge zone. A new development in Mile End’s St Clements has seen the conversion of the site of a Victorian asylum into 252 homes with prices starting from £485,000. Locations walkable to Canary Wharf such as Bow are set prove more popular as 5,700 civil servants move from Whitehall to the financial district.
Evening Standard (15/12/2016)
16th December 2016
Building service provider JS Wright has been awarded a £3.5m contract to fit out the New Union Wharf development currently being regenerated by developer Hill on the Isle Of Dogs. It will design and build the mechanical services for 144 energy efficient, affordable homes in the development’s second and third phases as well as delivering a combined heat and power energy centre. The six-block scheme will provide properties available for social rent, shared ownership and outright sale.
16th December 2016
Housebuilder Bellway has reported that reservations were up 7% for the 18 weeks since the beginning of August, compared to the same period last year, and added that it expected to build 5% more homes in the financial year that ends next July. Bellway, which builds homes largely in east London and on the outskirts, also said it had restarted its land acquisition due to "the positive autumn trading performance", after pausing following the EU referendum. Site visitor numbers and hits to the group's website were both ahead of last year, while cancellation rate stood at 11%, edging up on the 10% seen a year earlier.
The Daily Telegraph (14/12/2016) Financial Times (14/12/2016) The Times (14/12/2016) Evening Standard (13/12/2016) Independent I (14/12/2016)