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13th May 2016
Sadiq Khan has set out his vision for London. The new Mayor promised to bring together London's councils, housing associations and developers to tackle the housing crisis. He said he is "confident we can do business" with the Government but warned: "We're not going to fix the housing crisis overnight". The Telegraph’s Allister Heath argues Mr Khan’s proposed solutions could end up making many projects unviable, hurt housebuilders and actually lead to fewer new residential properties in the capital.
Evening Standard (09/05/2016) Daily Telegraph (09/05/2016)
13th May 2016
Canary Wharf chief executive Sir George Iacobescu warns that a Brexit would exacerbate a severe skills shortage in the construction industry, with 30% of the workforce likely to be lost. He said: “[Companies] will move part of their people. They will have no need to hire more people here, so by attrition they will compress. If the [rent] price goes down, there isn’t a huge amount of profits. Developers will think ten times about doing a build”.
Property Week (09/05/2016)
13th May 2016
The average price of a home in London has broken through the £600,000 barrier, and has almost doubled since 2009, according to an analysis of Land Registry data. The average across England and Wales had risen 8.9% since April 2015 to £298,030 in March. In London the average was up 11% year-on-year. Waltham Forest had the biggest increase in house prices, with the average up 113% to £430,704.
The Guardian (11/05/2016)
13th May 2016
TfL, one of the capital's largest land owners with 5,700 acres, is expecting to raise more than £1bn for reinvestment in the transport system. Rather than just selling the sites, it is forging joint ventures with developers and has chosen 13 partners, including major housebuilders. Initially, 75 sites covering 300 acres are being brought forward for both house building and transport infrastructure.
Evening Standard (11/05/2016)
6th May 2016
John Biggs, mayor of Tower Hamlets, cut a ribbon to launch a linear park running through the heart of the £250m Aberfeldy Village development in Poplar. Designed by architects Levitt Bernstein, the strip is lined with liquidamber trees and provides an open space for residents of the area to relax and socialise. Aberfeldy Village, close to the East India DLR station, will see 1,176 new homes built over the next decade, along with several community facilities and a children's play area. Over 300 homes are already occupied, with work already underway on the second phase of the development, which will see another 219 apartments added.
The Wharf (05/05/2016)
6th May 2016
Though his or her identity is unknown at the time of writing, London’s next mayor, could tap into £1bn of unspent government cash to unlock the capital's housing crisis, a report from the Housing and Finance Institute claims. The report highlighted unspent money in boroughs' housing revenue accounts, plus more in land values, access to national grants and potential low-rate borrowing that could be utilised. It also claimed London has capacity for over a million more homes simply by better land use.
Evening Standard (29/04/2016)