Canary Wharf development sells out in five hours

17th July 2015

Homes worth a total of £140m in Canary Wharf’s latest residential tower block sold out in less than five hours despite the fact that it hasn’t been built yet. Maine Tower’s 230 apartments, which ranged in asking price from £350,000 to £1.25m, and will be completed in 2019, sold out in a single morning a fortnight ago, according to Galliard Homes, the builder behind the east London development. Galliard said that 50% of the flats were bought by domestic buyers - including some first-time buyers - and 50% were from overseas. Crossrail is due to start running in 2019 and experts believe the new railway line is driving a major uplift in house prices in areas through which the service will run and attracting new levels of interest in east London. Earlier this year JLL forecast a 44% rise in house prices in Canary Wharf and a 54% hike in Whitechapel. Stephen Conway, the chief executive of Galliard Homes, said that the international buyers that have invested in Maine Tower were dominated by Greek, French and Italian buyers looking to sink their money into London property.

The Sunday Telegraph (12/07/2015)