Docklands News

British Land is making its first foray in the residential market, with the launch of 186 "net-zero" apartments at its new regeneration project at Canada Water. A mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, The Founding will also see the creation of 12 acres of new open space, including a 3.5-acre park, a new town square, and the first new high street in London for 100 years. British Land said that the project will be a net-zero neighbourhood by 2030, using an “all-electric energy strategy” which uses 100% renewable electricity. Phase one of the scheme is  expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2024, with prices for homes starting at £696,000. The centrepiece of the new district will be the building currently known as the Printworks. The distinctive, boxy structure, formerly known as Harmsworth Quays, was once owned by the Daily Mail and housed the newspaper’s printing press, before its more recent rejuvenation into a 5,000 capacity night club and event space. It is to be transformed again into a cultural venue, where drama and dance performances can be held, while the other part will be turned into an office, intended to become a company headquarters.

City AM (27/02/2023)   The Guardian (01/03/2023)  

A new report reveals that over the next 15 years London will become a global “megacity” with a population of 10m people. Economics forecaster Oxford Economics said London's economy will thrive, 600,000 high quality new jobs will be created, and its wobbling housing market will also recover — to the extent that an average owner will soon need to borrow 12 times their annual salary to buy a home (compared to a UK average of eight). The report said this prosperity will boost the housing market with price growth returning in 2025 after a two year hiatus. 

Evening Standard (28/02/2023)  

House prices are at their least affordable level in nearly 150 years, according to analysis from Leeds Building Society. The figures showed average home values last year were 9.2 times higher than average earnings. That multiple was last larger, at 9.3 times, in 1875, the year when the Leeds was founded, according to the analysis of data from the Office of National Statistics, the Bank of England and Land Registry. Back then average annual earnings totalled just £40, making it a struggle to afford a typical home - worth £372. Today a typical salary has surged to £31,928 but a residential property is valued at an average £294,329. A separate report from the asset manager Schroders also came to the same conclusion, and also found a gender gap. The average house in London costs more than 14 times a woman's salary, compared with 12 times for a man. Outside of London, the gender divide was most stark in the South East.

The Mail on Sunday (26/02/2023)   The Sunday Telegraph (26/02/2023)  

A borrower who bought the average home with a 25% deposit and a 25-year mortgage would have saved £4,429 over the last 20 years if they repeatedly took out two-year trackers instead of two-year fixed deals, according to broker L&C Mortgages. The total cost of the mortgage on a £119,938 home – the average price in 2003 – would have been £113,658, compared with £109,224, research firm Defaqto found. Experts said borrowers were effectively charged more for the certainty of having a fixed rate. The average two-year fixed rate for a new mortgage with a 25pc deposit was 4.55% at the beginning of 2003, while the average two-year tracker rate was 4.18%. Tracker rates for those remortgaging were cheaper at the beginning of every subsequent year apart from 2007. 

The Daily Telegraph (27/02/2023)  

HM Revenue and Customs figures shows that house sales have got off to the weakest start to the year since 2015, with an estimated 96,650 house sales taking place in January 2023, 3% lower than in December 2022. According to HMRC, some 1,029,580 house sales have taken place in the financial year to date, between April 2022 and January this year. Analysis shows this is lower than the 1,154,360 house sales which took place over the same period a year earlier but higher than the 872,200 sales taking place between April 2020 and January 2021, in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Daily Telegraph (21/02/2023)   The Independent (21/02/2023)  

New research by Schroders reveals that houses are far more unaffordable for women than men in every single region of Britain as a result of the gender pay gap. A new report found women will have to wait longer to save for a deposit and be able to borrow less through a mortgage than men on average. Schroders found that the average house costs 14.1 times the average woman's salary in London, while men face house prices that are 12 times their income. Sara Reis, of the Women's Budget Group, a non-profit organisation, said although homes are most unaffordable in London in cash terms, women face the biggest difference in housing affordability to men in the East of England. 

The Daily Telegraph (17/02/2023)