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New partnership to create 14,000 new homes in London
A new partnership that is expected to create 14,000 new homes across London and the South East has been welcomed by the Mayor of London's Office. National Grid and Berkeley Group have established a joint venture to develop major residential and mixed use development schemes in an initiative known as St William Homes LLP. It brings together access to a significant portfolio of brownfield land owned by National Grid Property in key areas of housing need with Berkeley's ability to design, build and market new developments. ‘London's population is set to rise by 37% to more than 11 million people by 2050 and innovative approaches to house building such as this well help to unlock vast swathes of land and deliver thousands of much needed new homes,’ said Sir Edward Lister, deputy Mayor for Planning. ‘National Grid has numerous sites across the capital that are ripe for regeneration and this partnership will stimulate development and create new jobs. Schemes such as this go hand in hand with the Mayor's work to accelerate the building of thousands more homes for Londoners with a range of pioneering new policies, including the creation of new housing zones and a housing bank,’ he added. In its first phase, St William aims to develop more than 7,000 new homes, including over 2,000 affordable homes. Development at this scale would also deliver 5,500 jobs, 2 new schools and 22 acres of public open space, transforming 84 acres of former industrial land and contributing over £150 million to local infrastructure and amenities. Meanwhile, the Lewisham Gateway development is set to deliver hundreds of new homes, a new riverside park and over 1,000 new jobs on land released by the Mayor of London, the London Borough of Lewisham and Transport for London, as part of a drive to accelerate house building on thousands of sites across the capital. Engineers on the site have rerouted two rivers and begun work on a completely new road layout. Work is also underway on the first two new buildings on the site, which are already beginning to rise from their foundations. When work on the site in Lewisham is complete it will provide up to 800 new homes in a world class development that will include new shops, cafes, park land and hugely improved access to the town centre. It is a plan that was first conceived a decade ago but was only made possible last year when, with strong support from the Mayor of London, the Government approved £20 million of funding to kick start redevelopment of the area. The development is part of a wider drive by the Mayor of London to deliver new homes on surplus land owned by the public sector. Almost 90% of 670 hectares of public land taken on by the Mayor in 2012 is now in the development pipeline, including on the former Catford stadium, and most recently appointing two developers for sites in Newham at Pontoon Dock and Silvertown Way… Continue reading
Prices dip in prime outer London as election cools demand
Prices in prime outer London fell in October, ending a period of 40 consecutive months of growth, according to the latest report from Knight Frank. A decrease of 0.2% was the first fall since May 2011, which meant annual growth slowed to 10.1% from 11.8% in September. Despite the fact annual growth eased, it exceeded the figure of 8.4% in October last year. Knight Frank forecasts growth in prime outer London will slow to 3% in 2015, predominantly due to the possibility of a mansion tax after the general election in May next year, though we expect cumulative growth of 26% between 2015 and 2019 as demand continues to exceed supply. Doubt also surrounds the timing of an interest rate rise even though weak wage growth and low inflation means the likelihood of a near term increase has receded. ‘The combination of this uncertainty and the fact prices have risen strongly over a prolonged period of time means annual growth will unavoidably slow, which it has been doing since the summer,’ said Tom Bill, He pointed out that in many cases, more realistic asking prices have re-awakened the interest of buyers. The most marked decrease was in Fulham where prices fell 1.1% in October. The area has a high number of houses worth between £2 million and £4 million, which could potentially be liable for mansion tax. Meanwhile, there was growth in east London, with prices increasing by 0.4% in Wapping and 0.1% in Canary Wharf in October, the only two Knight Frank offices in prime outer London to record a rise. Bill explained that both areas benefit from their relative proximity to London’s two financial centres of the City and Canary Wharf, the fact they have fewer £2 million plus properties and the emergence of high quality new build schemes in east London that lifts prices in the re-sales market. Rental values fell 0.1% in October and the annual decline was 0.9%. Despite the decrease, demand rose in the third quarter of 2014, which meant quarterly growth remained positive, as figure two shows. Meanwhile, yields jumped by the most in over three years to 3.59%, their highest level in seven months. The Knight Frank Prime Outer London Index, established in 1997, is the longest running and most comprehensive index covering the prime outer London residential marketplace. The index is based on a repeat valuation methodology that tracks capital values of prime outer London residential property. Continue reading
Research reveals UK landlords experience difficulties accessing buy to let finance
Three in 10 landlords in the UK plan to look for additional buy to let lending or to re-mortgage in the next three months, yet many may not gain access to finance, it is claimed. According to the latest report from the National Landlords Association (NLA) some 67% of landlords rely on a buy to let mortgage to fund their portfolio, but one in five, or approximately 300,000, landlords have not been able to expand due to difficulties in accessing buy to let finance over the last year. Furthermore, 59% say that lenders fail to consider their individual circumstances, and 56% that current buy to let lending criteria is too conservative. There are two ways a landlord can obtain a buy to let mortgage, either by going direct to a lender or by using the services of a broker, and the NLA believes it is vital that landlords have access to a wide range of products in order to find the one most appropriate solution for them. ‘A significant number of landlords are having trouble accessing finance and expanding, which is a major concern because the private sector is vital in meeting the ever increasing demand on housing at the moment,’ said Carolyn Uphill, NLA chairman. ‘Many landlords are frustrated as lending criteria is too prescriptive. There’s no one size fits all mortgage, and as the leading landlord association in the UK we understand that landlords need access to a range of products that meet their specific individual circumstances,’ she explained. She pointed out that NLA Mortgages provides a free online buy to let mortgage search facility which sources from over 600 mortgage products to help landlords find the best product to suit their needs. Mortgage schemes that are not available in the general marketplace are also available through NLA Mortgages, all via the NLA website. ‘We urge any landlords who are having difficulty in finding a mortgage that meets their needs to get in touch to see how NLA Mortgages can help,’ she added. The NLA’s research also asked landlords what they would say to lenders if given the opportunity. ‘Mortgage lenders are becoming increasingly difficult to work with. The requirement to produce further information on income is causing delays and becoming problematic…if your income does not fit their box on criteria they say no, which wastes time and slows the process,’ said one. ‘Mortgage lenders should consider each borrower on their own merits, and not impose a blanket ban on lending to individuals earning less than £25,000, regardless of their personal circumstances. Someone who is lucky enough to have no outgoings, servicing a mortgage with personal income of £25,000 a year is more than adequate,’ said another. Continue reading
