Uk
London announces more council owned land for new home building
London is leading the way in the UK in terms of releasing land for new housing development and encouraging institutional investment in the city’s residential property market. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London has pledged to release all City Hall-owned land for development by the end of his Mayoral term in 2016 and almost all these sites are now up for development. They include the regeneration of four former hospital sites and industrial land at Greenwich Peninsula and Barking Riverside. Around 50,000 homes will be delivered on City Hall's land interests. In the latest announcement a total of 3,500 new homes, a school and a park will transform a disused Parcelforce depot in east London on a 10 hectare site in Stephenson Street, Newham. It will also include nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space. The development will provide homes to buy and rent, including a significant proportion of shared ownership and purpose built private rented homes. More than 1,200 of the 3,500 homes will be affordable. It is part of the Johnson's wider push to strengthen institutional investment in the residential market in London, with City Hall initiatives aimed at boosting both shared ownership and purpose built private rent. ‘This huge chunk of disused land will be put to the best possible use, creating a whole new neighbourhood including 3,500 much needed new homes, a new school and a park. This ambitious development will help to further the continuing transformation of east London as part of our Olympic legacy,’ said Johnson. Chairman of the Berkeley Group Tony Pidgley, said that the Stephenson Street development will be a new village for London. ‘It will have all the qualities that a successful community needs: shops, workspaces and a school, links between neighbours, a beautiful park where people can play and great transport connections. Above all, this site will create homes for people regardless of their age, background or income. It will be a place for everyone,’ he added. A key part of the Mayor's Housing Strategy is to encourage institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies, to invest in housebuilding. This includes efforts to support extended leases and more stability for tenants as well as top quality, well designed, new developments. Some 132,000 properties have now signed up to his London Rental Standard, which sets out basic duties for landlords to ensure a higher-quality experience for the city's tenants. These plans sit alongside efforts to boost home ownership for low and middle income households, with the Mayor exceeding his manifesto commitment by helping 52,000 Londoners into low cost home ownership through his First Steps scheme with plans to help a quarter of a million Londoners over the next decade. The latest development is subject to planning approvals. Following a planning application in 2016, a site start is targeted for early 2017 which would see the first homes delivered in the summer of 2018. Stephenson Street was acquired by the Mayor through… Continue reading
Sales to first time buyers up in the UK, latest estate agent data shows
The number of sales made to first time buyers in the UK rose for the second month running, to the highest level in six years, according to the latest housing market report from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). The October report show that there was an average of nine sales made per estate agent branch in total and 31% of these sales were to first time buyers. Last month, the group accounted for 29% of all sales, and in August just 20%, showing an 11% jump in just two months. ‘It’s really promising that, for the second month running, the number of sales being made to first time buyers has risen. Competitive mortgage products and the increasing pressure of an interest rate rise could be encouraging first steppers to take the plunge, as well as the dwindling supply of rental housing stock, putting pressure on renters to buy,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director. The report also points out that the supply of available housing increased in October, ahead of the Christmas slowdown. The number of properties available to buy per branch increased by 16% from 37 in September to 43 in October. On the other hand, demand for property dropped slightly from an average 342 house hunters per branch in September, to 336 in October. ‘Although it is great to see supply growing and demand falling, albeit by just 2%, we cannot rest in the knowledge that the housing market is on the ‘road to recovery’. What we’re seeing is a seasonal uplift,’ said Hayward. ‘Those selling their homes are keen to push through sales before Christmas, hence the uplift in properties entering the market but with the average sale taking between nine and 12 weeks, it’s unlikely transactions will be pushed through before Christmas now. Buyers are holding off until January to kick off the New Year with a house hunt,’ he explained. ‘The only way we can attempt to repair the market is simply by building more houses. Osborne’s pledge last week to build 200,000 new and affordable starter homes, with a discount for those under the age of 40, and his promises to offer loans to small builders, reform the planning system and re-designate commercial land to build new homes are all a step in the right direction. But until it’s all put into motion and we see the walls of new properties going up, we’re not holding our breath,’ he added. Continue reading
New Help to Buy scheme for London will make renting more costly
Monthly costs for purchasers of a new build property using the new London Help To Buy scheme will be significantly less than rental costs of a comparable property, it has emerged. The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborn announced that from early the government will increase the upper limit for the equity loan it gives new buyers within Greater London from 20% to 40%. It means that Londoners with just a 5% deposit will be able to get an interest-free loan worth up to 40% of the value of a newly built home. People then need to get a mortgage of up to 55% to cover the rest. On top of this the current restrictions on who can buy a home through shared ownership will be removed from April 2016. Shared ownership allows people to buy a share of a home rather than the whole house and then buy a greater share over time as they can afford to. They pay rent on the rest of the property. Currently, these are allocated in several different ways including criteria set by local councils, for example whether potential buyers work in the local area or if they are already in council housing. Help to Buy Shared Ownership will lift the limits so that anyone who has a household income of less than £80,000 outside London, and £90,000 inside London, can buy a home through shared ownership. Only military personnel will be given be priority over other groups. The scheme will apply across England. People can buy a share between 25% and 75% of a home. The rent on the rest of the property won’t be more than 3% of the amount left. For example, on a house worth £227,000 where the buyer has bought a 40% share, the rent won’t be more than 3% of the remaining 60% – in this case £4,000 a year, or £340 a month. Help to Buy Equity Loans are already open to both first time buyers and home movers on new build homes in England with a purchase price up to £600,000. Currently, if you’re able to pay at least 5% the value of your home as a deposit, the government will lend you up to 20% of the rest of the value of the property, alongside your mortgage of up to 75%. Equity Loan will be now available until 2021 and, to reflect the current property market in London, from early 2016 the government will increase the upper limit for the equity loan it gives new buyers within Greater London from 20% to 40%. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, explained that monthly costs for buyers of a new build property using the new London Help To Buy scheme will be significantly less than rental costs of a comparable property, massively incentivising Londoners to find the 5% deposit and other costs. He also pointed out that the London HTB scheme will also result in much lower monthly… Continue reading
