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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
County towns in the UK lead price growth for five bed family homes, new research shows
Family homes in quintessential county towns in England have seen prices rise more than seven times the national average in key regional locations, according to new research. Warwick has seen the highest price growth for five plus bedroom homes in the past 12 months with York, Hertford, Bristol, Gloucester, Exeter, Chelmsford, Shrewsbury, Chester and Northampton making up the top 10. Overall, average growth for the top 10 markets in five bedroom homes was 27.68%, the study from national estate agents Jackson-Stops & Staff which has 44 offices across the country. In Warwick prices for five bedroom family homes rose from £519,129 to £799,777 in the past 12 months with York, Hertford, Bristol, Gloucester and Exeter showing 33.9%, 33.8%, 33.6%, 29.6% and 27.7% growth respectively. The report says that these towns highlight a strong geographical spread across the UK and show the strength of the town market away from London and the Home Counties. Whilst these towns have performed strongly in the family home market, it is Exeter, Bristol and York which have seen the highest levels of price growth across all property types. Exeter with price growth of 23.2% in the past year, more than three times the national average, with Bristol and York also performing extremely strongly. Indeed, saw growth of 22.6% with the average property taking just 46 days to sell whilst York had growth of 19.9%, featuring in the top 10 markets for nearly all property types. Aylesbury, Maidstone, Brentford, Huntingdon, Reading, Cambridge and Oxford make up the top 10 performing markets across all property types. However, when analysing price, the commuter hubs continue to outperform the rest of the country. Brentford, Guildford and Cambridge are the most expensive county towns in the country across all property types with average asking prices currently in excess of £600,000. Of all 41 county towns analysed just 11 reported price deflation in the past 12 months, four of which was 0.7% or less, further highlighting the strength of the markets in these regional hubs. With the majority of county towns recording above average growth it is hoped that this will have a ripple effect to the rest of the region. Offering a huge variety of amenities, cultural activities as well as the best services and infrastructure, county towns are popular choices amongst property buyers, particularly those with children looking for large family homes, according to the report. It adds that as the second generation become more independent and want to socialise with their friends, parents are increasingly looking for a home within a regional centre in order to satisfy their offspring’s demand to be more self-sufficient. In regions outside of the London catchment, county towns provide the perfect compromise. ‘County towns have for centuries formed a central hub for the communities in the surrounding smaller towns and hamlets,’ said Nicholas Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops & Staff. ‘As such, these regional centres typically benefit from excellent transport links and continue to offer the best infrastructure, schools,… Continue reading
