Tag Archives: crisis
Bidders announced for new fast track housing developments in London
The Mayor of London has selected preferred bidders for two sites owned by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to fast track the creation of more than 1,200 new high quality homes. The developments, including 480 homes for long term private rent, will use an innovative covenant to help relieve pressure on the capital's housing market, accelerate development and raise standards of private renting. Over the last decade the number of households privately renting has increased to around two million Londoners, about one in four, but the capital has few purpose built rented schemes compared to the US or Europe. The GLA marketed two sites, Silvertown Way and Pontoon Dock, with the specific aim to deliver a significant proportion of private rented homes. Mayor Boris Johnson said that the requirement for top quality private rent, built alongside traditional private sale and affordable housing, will help to speed up the construction period, encourage long term institutional investment into the residential market and improve the design, tenancy arrangements and management of the homes. He pointed out that the GLA requires both developers to hold the private rent housing for at least 10 years. Galliford Try Plc working with OPAL LAND LLP, a joint venture between Thames Valley Housing and Galliford Try PLC's residential arm, Linden Homes, has been selected as the preferred delivery partner for Silvertown Way in Canning Town, Newham. The 2.1 hectare site was previously vacant land, and will become more than 1,000 homes including 347 private rented, 232 for affordable rent, and 154 for affordable home ownership. It will also include 86,000 square feet of employment and non-residential space. Bouygues Development working with a consortium backed by the London Pensions Fund Authority and Grainger plc has been selected as the delivery partner for Pontoon Dock, a 0.69 hectare site within Royal Docks, also in the London Borough of Newham. The site is currently a public car park and coach stand that will be transformed into more than 200 homes and approximately 11,000 square feet of non-residential floor space, to include 137 private rented sector homes, 42 for affordable rent and 31 for shared ownership. The project, which will see the car parking re-provided, will also improve access to the popular Thames Barrier Park. ‘Boosting house building is my number one priority, with City Hall leading the way with a range of creative approaches to address a 30 year failure to build enough homes. These two great new developments will turn surplus public land into new homes for Londoners,’ said Johnson. ‘These schemes will be built faster than conventional methods by providing a US style private rented model alongside traditional tenures. It's important for London's economy to support the growing rental market, providing top quality homes and management, together with the reassurance of longer tenancy agreements,’ he explained. ‘I also want to entice more institutional investors to come forward and invest in quality homes for Londoners, further supporting house building and creating thousands of new jobs,’ he added. The… Continue reading
Referendum waiting game pushes rents to all-time peak in Scotland
The Scottish independence referendum contributed to the recent rise in rents to a new record high of £537 per month, up 2.7% in the last 12 months, the latest index shows. Rent growth accelerated on a monthly basis over the past three months as polling day approached, according to the Scotland Buy to Let Index from Your Move, one of Scotland’s largest lettings agents network. The data shows that rents have increased in every region of Scotland over the past year with new records in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Cumulatively, average residential rents have risen 1.3% in the three months to August 2014. Doubt over the outcome of the referendum and lack of clarity over the mortgage and taxation consequences of a possible ‘Yes’ vote, prompted people to delay purchase decisions, and consequently heightened demand in the private rented sector. The average residential rent across Scotland is now 2.7% higher than in August 2013, currently standing at £537 per month. In cash terms, this represents a rise of £14 from a year ago. This is the highest level of average residential rent in Scotland on record, and is up 0.5% since July. ‘While the independence debate has been raging, many households have been battening down the hatches and waiting to see which way the wind blows before buying property. This has boosted demand in the private rental sector, which has acted as a safe harbour and stop-gap on the journey to home ownership,’ said Gordon Fowlis, regional managing director of Your Move. A breakdown of the figures shows that rents have risen on an annual basis across all five regions of Scotland and have climbed to new record peaks in both Glasgow and Clyde, and Edinburgh and the Lothians in August. Glasgow and Clyde saw the fastest annual increase, with average monthly rents up 5.5% or £30 on August 2013, and now standing at £575. This is followed by 3.8% annual growth in Edinburgh and the Lothians, where rents rose by £22 over the past year to an average £602 per month. In three out of five regions, rents are higher than the previous month. The steepest month on month increase is in Glasgow and Clyde, with rents increasing 4.2% between July and August 2014. In Edinburgh and the Lothians, rents have risen 0.2% over the past month, and rents in the East are up 0.1% from July. Two regions have seen rents dip on a monthly basis. The South witnessed the biggest fall in average rents, down 2.2% in the month to August, while in the Highlands and Islands rents were 0.2% lower than in July. As of August the gross yield on a typical rental property in Scotland stands at 4%. This represents a fall of 0.2 percentage points since August 2013 when the gross yield on a rental property averaged 4.2%. However, yields are holding steady on a monthly basis, at 4% over the past four months. Taking into… Continue reading
