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20th May 2016
London Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to quadruple the proportion of “affordable” housing being built in the capital, saying he wants more than 50% of homes on some new housing developments to be affordable. He notes that this does not mean 80% of market rent, as affordable is defined by the Government, but far lower social rents or “London living rent”, which is pitched at a third of average incomes.
The Guardian (18/05/2016)
20th May 2016
The ONS has said that UK house prices increased in March at their fastest monthly rate since 2004 as buy-to-let investors accelerated purchases ahead of a stamp duty rise in April. Its UK house price index increased by 2.5% between February and March to take the average price of a home to £291,820. The biggest increase in house prices came in London, where they rose 13%, while house prices in the South East rose by 12.2%.
The Daily Telegraph (17/05/2016)
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)