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New funding model announced to bring hundreds of shared ownership homes to London
A pioneering funding model with input from major institutional investors means that 1,000 new homes for shared ownership will be built in London. London Mayor Boris Johnson said that it will make home ownership accessible to many more people and described it as a significant boost to his plans which have already seen 52,000 helped into shared ownership homes through his First Steps programme. He said that he aims to double the number of shared ownership units built in London by 2020 and has also directed the Greater London Authority to begin purchasing land in areas suitable for further shared ownership developments. The latest two investments with Chaco Ltd and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham working with institutional investors have been allocated £45 million from the Mayor's First Steps Challenge Fund. A further £120 million from long term private sector investment will add to the Mayor's loan funding. The fund is aimed at attracting investment from institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies to build part buy, part rent housing for low and middle income Londoners. It is expected to attract more than double its initial investment, providing strong value for the taxpayer. The Fund adds to successful efforts to encourage institutional investment for the purpose-built private rented sector, building a bigger pool of investors and new providers to support house building. The GLA will explore purchasing land in areas, such as Housing Zones, where the shared ownership model could be expanded. This would ensure vacant plots are put to productive use and preserve the developments for shared ownership properties. The GLA has successfully brought to market all of its surplus sites since the Mayor was elected, providing almost 50,000 new homes, and will now look to make acquisitions where it will accelerate or unlock new homes. ‘This scheme is a brilliant way to open up home ownership to Londoners on modest incomes, making the first step on the property ladder just that little bit easier. We've already helped 52,000 Londoners to buy their first home and realise their dream, and I'm very pleased that the first institutional investors have come on board through my First Steps Challenge Fund,’ said Johnson. ‘This is a great vote of confidence in a housing model which is incredibly popular with consumers, and we need to see more of it in London,’ he added. The first investment under the First Steps Challenge Fund scheme will be delivered in partnership with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and part-funded by institutional investors, and result in up to 500 new shared ownership homes by 2020. The Greater London Authority will contribute £22.5 million to the development, which will be more than matched by pension funds and other institutional investors, and repaid within 15 years with interest. The second investment will be delivered in partnership with Chaco Ltd, an organisation that provides institutional non-bank funding for housing associations and registered providers, to build 500… Continue reading
Kensington’s Victoria Road named as the most expensive for homes in the UK
Victoria Road in Kensington in London is the most expensive residential street in England and Wales with an average house price of over £8 million, new research shows. Indeed, 12 of the 20 most expensive roads are in the Royal Borough of Kensington and the top 50 are all in the south of England, the data from Lloyds Bank also shows. There is a £5.5 million gap between the most expensive streets in the South East and the rest of the UK, no million pound streets in Wales and a £7.2 million gap between the most expensive street in Wales compared to central London. The most expensive Welsh street is in Cardiff and with an average house price of £793,000, Druidstone Road is £7.2 million less than Victoria Road in London. Such is the pull of living in Kensington and Chelsea that 12 streets in the Royal Borough are in the list of the 20 most expensive in the country. These include Egerton Crescent with an average price of £7,550,000, followed by Manresa Road at £7,359,000, De Vere Gardens at £6,606,000, Drayton Gardens at £5,954,000 and Chelsea Manor Road at £5,523,000. Other central London locations featuring prominently in the list of most expensive streets are in Westminster, including Eaton Square with an average price of £6,727,000, Chester Street at £5,533,000 and Prince Consort Road at £5,281,000. Away from these two prime central locations, Parkside in Merton in south west London is amongst the 20 priciest streets with an average price of £6,355,000. Parkside is followed by West Heath Road in Barnet, north London at £5,199,000, and Anhalt Road in Wandsworth at £4,686,000. Outside of London Icklingham Road in Cobham in Surrey is the most expensive with an average property price of £3,094,000. The next most expensive in the region is Moles Hill in Leatherhead at £3,085,000, Harebell Hill in Cobham at £3,041,000, Abbots Drive in Virginia Water at £2,937,000, Fishery Road in Maidenhead at £2,821,000 and Wildernesse Avenue in Sevenoaks at £2,167,000. Poole in Dorset is the only area outside the South East that ranks near the top. Sandbanks Road is the most expensive with an average house price of £2,493,000 followed by Western Avenue at £2,433,000 and Haig Avenue at £2,200,000, all of which are in Poole. Newton Road close to the Cambridge Botanic Gardens is the most expensive street in East Anglia with an average house price of £1,853,000 but million pound residencies in northern England are not far behind. The most expensive streets outside southern England are concentrated in the area south of Manchester. Castle Hill in Macclesfield has an average property value of £1,662,000, followed by Macclesfield Road in Alderley Edge at £1,499,000, Torkington Road in Wilmslow at £1,330,000 and Goughs Lane in Knutsford at £1,299,000. The most expensive streets not in southern England are Lyndon Road in Oakham in Rutland at £1,363,000, Tiddington Road in Stratford-upon-Avon at £1,349,000, Rutland Drive in Harrogate at £1,191,000 and Graham Park Road in Newcastle at… Continue reading
Shortage of up supply pushing up UK house prices
House prices are continuing to rise across the UK driven by an ongoing shortage of new properties coming on to the market, according to the latest monthly survey report. The report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also shows that prices are rising at the fastest pace in East Anglia, the South East and the East Midlands. However, in London the rate of price growth is slowing for the fourth consecutive month. Driving the rise in prices, the number of new properties coming on the market fell for the tenth consecutive month. In November 8% more respondents reported a decrease in new homes coming on to the market. The report points out that this is a trend that has persisted since the beginning of 2014. On average over the past six months buyer demand has outpaced supply across all regions. Indeed, the number of properties on surveyor’s books reached a new low in November. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the lack of stock is holding back transaction levels and agreed sales were flat in November across the UK as a whole. Last year’s stamp duty changes are also mentioned as holding back the prime market in some areas of the UK, most notably London and the South East. Although supply is currently holding back sales, respondents across the UK are positive on the outlook for the coming months, with 47% more chartered surveyors expecting to see a rise rather than a fall in activity, up from 34% in October and is the highest reading for nearly two years. ‘This is likely to be the result of new housing policies announced in this year’s Autumn Statement. New Help to Buy and Starter Homes initiatives, aimed at increasing access to home ownership, are likely to result in increased sales over the coming months,’ said Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist. However, the view is still that price levels will continue to rise perhaps signalling the view from respondents that although new house building is expected to increase the belief is that this will not be enough to take the market back to more sustainable levels,’ he explained. ‘As other changes in the Autumn statement perhaps start to influence the market, although buyer demand increased on a national level at a subdued pace, London and East Anglia both saw a decline in demand with 5% more respondents seeing a fall rather than rise in the capital, and 16% more seeing a fall rather than rise in the East,’ he pointed out. He believes that this may suggest that the timing of Help to Buy may be causing some buyers to hold back and this is borne out by the sales expectations in London over the next three months, with 49% more chartered surveyors expecting a rise this is the strongest reading in the UK. ‘I can’t recall a set of comments in the residential survey which have so frequently drawn attention to lack of stock on the… Continue reading
