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22nd July 2016
The proportion of house purchase loans given to first-time buyers hit 53% in April, and was 51% in May. According to Council of Mortgage Lenders figures, it was the first time the figure had overtaken the 50% mark since 1996. The launch of Help to Buy, the state-backed scheme allowing borrowers to buy a home with just a 5% deposit, has caused a surge in new deals. When the scheme was launched, there were 42 products; now there are 227.
Daily Mail (21/07/2016)
22nd July 2016
A luxury property in London’s Admiralty Arch is on the market with a record price tag of up to £150m. If the 15,000 sq ft home in the historic Grade I listed landmark sold for £150m it would surpass London’s most expensive flat, a penthouse at One Hyde Park that sold for £140m in 2014.
The Daily Telegraph (20/07/2016)
15th July 2016
A 72-storey residential skyscraper on the Isle of Dogs has moved closer to fruition, after City Pride, the owner of the site, agreed a £320m development loan. JTC Group acted as administrators for the Landmark Pinnacle project, set to be one of the biggest residential towers in Europe, comprising 162 serviced flats and 752 private flats. Paul Lawrence, international head of real estate at law firm Taylor Wessing, which acted for City Pride on the deal, said: “This transaction is proof that the market for London assets is still strong and that post Brexit and with it the accompanying economic uncertainty, there is still appetite if the right deal is to be had on the right asset”.
Property Week (12/07/2016)
15th July 2016
Tony Pidgley chairman of Berkeley Group, London’s biggest residential developer, said sales were "holding up" since the Brexit vote. “It doesn't feel…that the end of the world's coming", he added. The post-referendum period sparked a sell-off of shares in the housebuilding sector, wiping almost £9bn off the market value of the biggest firms, though there have been signs of stabilisation since. A spokesman from the Home Builders Federation also played down the effect of the vote, noting that reservation and sales figures since June 23rd were looking “really positive”.
The Sunday Times (10/07/2016) Property Week (14/07/2016)
15th July 2016
UK house prices rose by 1.8% during the second quarter of this year, bringing the average cost of a UK property to a record £215,582 from £211,868 in the first quarter, according to the Halifax House Price Index, which said prices were up 8.5% compared to the same period one year ago, marking the slowest annual growth recorded since the third quarter of last year. London prices are now almost four times the average price paid in the area of the UK with the lowest house value, currently Northern Ireland at £119,000, and the average price in the capital currently just under £450,000.
City AM (13/07/2016) Evening Standard (13/07/2016)
15th July 2016
A study of the residential property market under different prime ministers since 1955 shows that David Cameron’s tenure saw a 3..2% rise in the average house price. The study from Neal Hudson, associate director of research at Savills, shows that the average value of a home in London is now 39% higher than when Mr Cameron took office in 2010. Tony Blair takes the top slot in the Savills' league, with the average price of a home up 136.8% between 1997 and 2007, while there was a 14.3% decline during Gordon Brown's term.
The Times (13/07/2016)