Renters rejoice: Homelet predicts a fall in housing costs for February February 3, 2017 London renters don't often have much to smile about: crazy demand to see 'cosy' apartments, sky-high agency fees (although they will soon be a thing of the past), and the endless march of rents taking an ever-larger chunk of our pay…until now. Renters in the capital may get a small respite this month, with Homelet [...]
A new complex is planned for the Greenwich Peninsula – but it has no affordable housing February 2, 2017 Images of the new landmark development at the Greenwich Peninsula have been unveiled, a project London mayor Sadiq Khan has tipped as a "new cultural district" for the capital. The scheme from developer Knight Dragon will provide new apartments, as well as offices, hotels, shops, bars and a theatre, over 1.4m square feet. The complex has [...]
Here’s how much you need to save each month if you want to buy a home in London in the next four years February 2, 2017 If you're a first-time buyer in London hoping to get yourself somewhere to call home in the next four years, look away now – for a new study has suggested the average first-time buyer should be saving £2,300 each month if they want to buy a house in the capital by 2021. Yikes. The National Housing [...]
Becoming a landlord? These are the most popular neighbourhoods for first time renters in London February 1, 2017 Coming to London can be daunting, and perhaps the most daunting part about it is thinking about saving up to buy a house. Young people in the capital are lucky if they get onto the property ladder at the age of 30, and until that day comes, they are forced to rent. Choosing a good place [...]
Interest in commercial property from abroad has nosedived since the Brexit vote February 1, 2017 The number of foreign companies looking for commercial property in the UK has fallen 40 per cent since the EU referendum, new research has suggested. Commercial real estate portal Property.Works said while foreign firms accounted for 11.3 per cent of all its searches in the first five months of 2016, that dropped to 6.7 per cent [...]
House price growth falls to 14-month low February 1, 2017 UK house annual price growth fell to 4.3 per cent in January, down from a year-on-year growth of 4.5 per cent in December. As compared to the month before, house price growth edged up 0.2 per cent, according to figures from Nationwide. But it is thought that overall this year the housing market will be cooler [...]
Zoopla is splurging £120m on this property data company January 31, 2017 Online property giant Zoopla has unveiled plans to buy property data company Hometrack for £120m. In a statement after the market closed today, Zoopla Property Group, which also owns the likes of USwitch and PrimeLocation, said the transaction will take place on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Zoopla will pay £108m when the deal completes, and £6m [...]
Mortgage approvals hit a nine-month high in December January 31, 2017 The Bank of England's mortgage borrowing hit a nine-month high in December as the housing market recovered from the lull it experienced in the months after the Brexit vote. At 67,898, the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases increased 10.7 per cent from the low (61,335) it hit in August. Read more: I can't help but [...]
It’s time we saw some real planning reforms in the upcoming housing white paper January 31, 2017 Much like a typical planning application, the housing white paper has already become mired in delay. The policy document, a central plank of Theresa May’s government, was originally due out last year and then put back until January. The smart money is now on publication on 6 February although that date remains unconfirmed. The white [...]
UK commercial construction hit a rough patch in 2016, falling nearly 15 per cent January 31, 2017 Commercial construction activity for the 2016 calendar year fell to £16.7bn, down 14.1 per cent on the previous period, according a new report by JLL, the property services company. The reduced work is a result of lower numbers of new build developments, which are down 18.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while refurbishments are 6.8 per cent lower [...]