Shooting the messenger: Rent controls have always and everywhere ended in failure September 14, 2016 Rent controls are back on the political agenda. Their reintroduction is now official Labour Party policy, and the Conservatives will probably follow with a somewhat milder version in due course. It is easy to see why: according to a recent Survation poll, two thirds of the public support rent controls, with most of the remaining [...]
The Green Belt is standing between young people and the homes they need September 14, 2016 Imagine a race in which the finishing line moved further away, faster than you could run. Rigged against you, no matter how hard you tried, the finish line would always move faster. That’s the housing market in London and the South East for most young people, where the dream of homeownership remains just that, a [...]
It turns out the location of craft breweries can predict London’s next house price hotspot September 14, 2016 Craft beer may be a hipster phenomenon, but it's worth paying attention to – if only for the fact it may be able to predict where the capital's next area of house price growth may be. A study by EasyProperty has found prices in the areas around London's 50 "boutique" breweries have bucked the post-Brexit [...]
Galliford Try’s share price jumps as it raises dividend September 14, 2016 Housebuilder Galliford Try's share price jumped six per cent this morning after the company said it would be raising its dividend. In its annual statement for the year ending 30 June, Galliford Try said it would be raising its dividend by 21 per cent to 82p per share. The housebuilder posted record profits of £1.35bn [...]
Martin & Co’s share price jumps as company hails recovery in the lettings market September 14, 2016 Property group Martin & Co's share price jumped more than seven per cent in early morning trading as the company hailed the recovery of the lettings market after the Brexit vote and raised its interim dividend 11 per cent to 2p per share. The group said this morning that business for estate agents had been dampened by [...]
A shortage of land could kill off London’s e-commerce revolution September 13, 2016 Recent reports that Amazon is set to test drone deliveries in partnership with the UK government is just the latest salvo in the fiercely contested battle between the e-commerce giants that are transforming the way we shop. The move also demonstrates the challenges of a constantly evolving logistics sector. City A.M. readers are at the [...]
The housing minister just suggested the government’s 200,000 starter homes pledge might include rental properties September 13, 2016 The remit of the government's promise to deliver 200,000 so-called starter homes by 2020 could be expanded so it includes purpose-built rental homes in the figure, the housing minister suggested today. During a question and answer session at the Resi 2016 conference in Wales, Gavin Barwell said there was "a little bit of tension between the overall [...]
Developer Irvine Sellar submits plans for the Paddington Cube to Westminster City Council after “The Shard of west London” was rejected September 13, 2016 Revised plans for a £775m development near Paddington Station have been submitted to Westminster Council. The plans from Great Western Developments and Sellar Paddington Limited (SPL) will transform the former Royal Mail site to create a 360,000 sq ft cube-shaped office block, which will be 14 storeys tall. A decision on the proposal is expected in [...]
House prices continued their upward climb in July, according to the Office of National Statistics September 13, 2016 House prices increased by 8.3 per cent in the year to July, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) – falling from 9.7 per cent growth in the year to June 2016. The average UK house price increased to £217,000 in July 2016, a £17,000 increase on July last year. That made the average [...]
House prices grow at slower pace in August September 13, 2016 Talk of a house price bubble bursting came to naught in August as house prices continued to grow – although the rate slowed. Average house prices now stand at £292,921 meaning the average homeowner is sitting on £12,101 more equity than this time last year according to Your Move and Reeds Rains’ monthly house price [...]