12th September 2016
Lincoln Plaza, a 31-storey luxury residential tower block near Canary Wharf, has been awarded the 2016 Carbuncle Cup by Building Design magazine, which labelled it a "brain-numbing jumble of discordant shapes, patterns, materials and colours”. A spokesman for developer Galliard Homes said the “scheme sold out to buyers, so clearly the project is liked by the purchasers”, adding that "the London Borough of Tower Hamlets appointed a design committee to review the architectural plans for this site, and the design committee loved the project and its design”.
BBC News (07/09/2016) Business Insider UK (08/09/2016)
2nd September 2016
Homes at East Thames’ Prospect East development in Stratford are still available, with a range of properties available, from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom townhouses. Residents have easy access to the open green spaces and landscaped areas on their doorsteps, as well as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Westfield Stratford City; additionally, Stratford International station is just a step away, offering a number of routes into London. Three-bedroom maisonettes are available, with a starting price of £657,950.
The Wharf (29/08/2016)
2nd September 2016
A survey by Ipsos Mori has found that six out of 10 Londonerssupport a limit on the height of new skyscrapers, with the same proportion backing restrictions on the number of buildings with more than 50 floors. Many Londoners, particularly those who live in the most affected areas, think the trend towards ever taller, bolder skyscrapers has gone too far, the survey found. More than 400 buildings of more than 20 floors are in the pipeline in London, according to a recent report by New London Architecture and GL Hearn, which is twice as many as two years ago.
The Observer (28/08/2016)
2nd September 2016
Foreign buyers scaled back their interest in London's housing market in the first half of the year, according to research by Hamptons International. It found buyers from overseas accounted for a fifth of all purchases in London, compared with nearly a third in the same period last year. The EU referendum and global economic volatility, along with concerns over higher stamp duty costs, were cited as key factors behind the fall. The retreat was starkest in London’s most expensive postcodes - in Kensington, Belgravia and Knightsbridge the international buyers fell to 43% in the first half, compared with 56% last year.
The Times (30/08/2016)
2nd September 2016
August saw a "slight pick-up" in house price growth, says the Nationwide, but the outlook is still subdued. The building society said prices rose by 0.6% compared with July, making the average cost of a home £206,145. Prices in August were 5.6% higher than a year earlier, compared with 5.2% in July. Nationwide added that while buyer demand had softened, the number of new homes coming to market had also been low, which has kept the balance of demand and supply in check, which in turn has kept prices higher. The future for property prices would be determined by the labour market and confidence amongst buyers, said Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner.
The Daily Telegraph (31/08/2016)
26th August 2016
EcoWorld Ballymore has put 100 new apartments on the market at its London City Island development on the Leamouth Peninsula. Dubbed a “Mini Manhattan”, the 12-acre site on former marshland where the Lea flows into the Thames will eventually host 1,700 apartments. The homes will be connected to Canning Town by a new 260ft footbridge over the Lea, offering easy access to the Jubilee Line and DLR. Residents will also have a number of restaurants, shops, creative hubs and al fresco spaces to enjoy. The first homes are due to be completed this year; prices begin at £405,000 for a one-bedroom home, going up to £760,000 for the larger, four-bedroom properties.
Evening Standard (26/08/2016) East London Advertiser (23/08/2016)