020 7538 0102
4th September 2015
London mayoral hopeful Dame Tessa Jowell says her proposed Homes for Londoners agency would cut developers out by placing City Hall in charge of building homes on nearly 6,000 acres of Transport for London land, saying firms were making up to £135,000 for every new home built.
Evening Standard
4th September 2015
A new report from SpareRoom.co.uk has shown that the average cost of renting a room in London has risen to over £743 per month. The report has also revealed that 10% of all listings on the website are now priced above £1,000 a month. SpareRoom.co.uk has made a list of the ten cheapest areas to rent in London, including Abbey Wood, Plumstead and Woolwich.
Evening Standard
4th September 2015
A new relaxation of planning rules will make it easier for developers to build on smaller spaces in the capital. However, London boroughs will be able to prevent what has been termed a potential 'building stampede' by giving areas conservation status. There are currently around 1,000 conservation areas in the city and this number could grow as a result of these new regulation changes.
Evening Standard
28th August 2015
Bellway Homes’ New Festival Quarter is one of the largest housing schemes in the Poplar area, with almost 500 new homes being built on a site opposite Bygrove Primary School, rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted. Full market prices are nudging towards the £500,000 but housing association Family Mosaic has a selection of shared-ownership homes aimed at first-time buyers. One-bedroom flats start at £97,500 for a 30% share, and buyers must have a household income of between £34,846 and £71,000. They will need to pay £379.17 a month in rent, plus their mortgage and a monthly service charge of £110.27. New Festival Quarter is designed by award-winning architects Stock Woolstencroft and most flats feature private balconies or terraces, rooftop gardens and small residents’ parks. Two-bedroom flats start at £118,000 for a 30% share and three-bedroom flats from £455,000.
Evening Standard
28th August 2015
New home building in Canary Wharf, accompanied by new infrastructure and amenities, is set to reinforce the area’s position as a prime residential address. Already home to vibrant shopping malls, as well as more than 300 shops, cafés, supermarkets, bars and restaurants, Canary Wharf is already an attractive residential environment as well as a business centre. Property prices in Canary Wharf have risen by 27% since early 2013, comfortably outstripping the 10% growth seen across prime central London over the same time. There are 14 schemes of around 400 units or more already under construction, or with full planning, on the Canary Wharf Estate and on nearby Isle of Dogs. Canary Wharf is currently primarily home to younger residents, with those under 40 reportedly making up a much larger proportion of buyers and renters than in other prime London neighbourhoods.
Property Wire
28th August 2015
The prospect of an interest rate rise has prompted many homeowners to lock into more competitive mortgage deals. The British Bankers' Association said remortgaging rose nearly 29% in July, helping push up the number of overall loans approved for home loans up by 15% year-on-year to 77,451, with a total value of £12.3bn. Some 46,033 mortgages with a total value of £7.8bn were approved for house purchase in July, up from £7.7bn in June and 11% higher than a year earlier - marking the highest monthly figure recorded since February 2014. The number of remortgage approvals leapt to 24,400 with a value of £4.1bn last month, up from 24,183 at £4bn in June. Total mortgage borrowing was £11.8bn, 11.5% higher than a year ago, the BBA said.
The Times