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17th April 2015
Campaigners have set up a planning forum in east London as part of the Government’s Localism Act because they argue Tower Hamlets Council is excluding Canary Wharf from its brief. The forum’s chairman Richard Harwood commented: “This area is apparently ‘too important’ to allow us to get involved and the council claims there aren’t many people living here anyway. I live slap bang in the middle of the area along with thousands of others, so we beg to differ!”
East London Advertiser (16/04/2015)
17th April 2015
The prospect of a mansion tax and increases in stamp duty have resulted in sales of £2m-plus properties in London declining by 40%. Data from Lonres found that sales of these homes in the three months to the end of March were 38% lower compared with the same period in 2014. Sales of properties worth between £1m and £2m were also 8.5% lower over the same period as stamp duty reforms in December kicked in. A reduction in demand has hit property prices in prime central London. The average price paid per square foot was 8.4% lower in the first quarter of 2015 than it was in the final quarter of 2014.
17th April 2015
A bedroom in London’s Docklands has been advertised for rent with its own “private shower and sofa” for £195 per week. Photographs of the property show the shower tucked away in the corner of the room - within an arm’s reach of the double bed. The tenant will also be able to make use of a sofa, chest of draws, table, wardrobe and a mirror squeezed into the tiny space.
Evening Standard (16/04/2015)
10th April 2015
Mountain Capital and developer Bouygues are set to launch the latest phase of the £600m Hallsville Quarter project in Canning Town. The 49 homes include 15 one-bedroom apartments, 25 two-bedroom flats, and a selection of three-bedroom apartments and townhouses, all based on a raised podium surrounding a private communal garden. The development is close to Canning Town Overground and Underground stations, and will also be served from 2019 by a new Crossrail station at Custom House; on completion, it will include a total of 1,100 homes, a new high street, a cinema and a hotel, with a host of bars and restaurants. Prices start at £337,500 for a one-bedroom flat, rising to £725,000 for a three-bedroom townhouse.
The Wharf (05/04/15)
10th April 2015
The Daily Telegraph looks at how the election is causing a slowdown in the number of wealthy individuals buying homes, with fears that a new government could see prices fall and taxes climb. Experts said data which shows a decline in mortgages for wealthier people with large deposits in the final quarter of 2014 might be balanced out later as over-55’s cashing in pensions potentially bring a new wave of property investment. Labour’s proposed mansion tax is said to be causing a few “cold feet” in the upper end of the market.
The Daily Telegraph (09/04/15)
10th April 2015
The number of young people saving toward deposits has fallen, with many in their 20s and 30s resigning themselves to not getting onto the property ladder. Halifax's Generation Rent report shows that only 43% of renters are currently saving toward a property purchase, while 57% are planning to rent long-term. London has the lowest rate of young homeowners, with only 39% of 25-45 year-olds in property they own, with 82% of the capital’s renters expressing a fear that they will never own a property. Halifax data shows that those planning to buy are willing to wait an average of 5.35 years to get on the property ladder, where recent homebuyers spent an average of 3.6 years saving.
The Independent (07/04/15