The government’s assault on buy-to-let landlords is hurting tenants February 10, 2017 The bill for the government’s misguided war on buy-to-let is coming due. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said yesterday that rents are likely to rise by 25 per cent over the next five years, outpacing house price growth, as landlords pare back their portfolios and tenants are left to fight over a diminishing supply [...]
Revealed: London’s 40 first-time buyer hotspots February 9, 2017 Looking for a place to call your own in the capital is tough if you're a first-time buyer – although house price growth is lower, most places are still out of reach. But new research has listed the 40 areas in London where first-time buyers are still thriving, with prices in some of the most [...]
This is what Londoners want within walking distance of their homes February 9, 2017 When it comes to buying a home, Londoners are the most demanding customers in the country. In the UK as a whole a staggering 25 per cent of people say they "wouldn't need anything in particular" near their homes, according to a survey by YouGov. Read more: This is how far house prices have plunged in [...]
Home sales were sluggish in January February 9, 2017 Home sales stayed sluggish in January, according to industry experts, with central London suffering a decline in sales. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), house sales lacked "momentum" in January, but an overall shortage of housing stock is still pushing up house prices and rents. The gloomy outlook comes after the government [...]
Candy brothers accused of subjecting businessman to campaign of abuse over loan deal gone wrong February 8, 2017 Property tycoons Nick and Christian Candy were brought to court today over claims they threatened a businessman over a loan deal gone awry. Entrepreneur Mark Holyoake, who is known for the now collapsed British Seafood importing business, is suing the brothers for £132m in damages in London's High Court. Holyoake, a former long-time friend of Nick [...]
Malaysian developer spends £10m saving Georgian terraces at One Crown Place February 8, 2017 Malaysian developer AlloyMtd is spending £10m on the refurbishment of a Georgian terrace in the Sun Street conservation area as part of its residential development One Crown Place. Hackney Council insisted on the developer restoring the historic buildings as part of the planning permission for the £500m scheme, which will provide 246 apartments and 140,000 square [...]
Property of the Week: This former hosepipe factory in Peckham is made for people who love hidden bookcases February 8, 2017 The Hosepipe Factory, Peckham, £2.295m It’s surprisingly easy to walk past this enormous former hosepipe factory. I did, three times, to be exact, pacing between a timber merchants and a row of Victorian terraced houses. Eventually, I spot the estate agent from Urban Spaces and he ushers me past a slim electric gate, like he’s [...]
Redrow boss calls for government to release green belt land February 8, 2017 Redrow chief executive John Tutte has said the government should have unlocked more greenbelt land for development in the housing white paper. Speaking to City A.M., Tutte said: "Controversially, we would have liked to have seen something more forceful on releasing the green belt. "It isn't all rolling countryside." His comments come after communities secretary Sajid [...]
If we cannot build on the green belt, then we must build up and build faster in inner city parts of the capital February 8, 2017 Has there ever been a more opportune time to reform the UK’s exceptionally strict rules against building on the so-called “green belt”? Huge swathes of protected land surround cities and towns such as London, Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham and Manchester. Soaring house prices and rental costs in these areas have prompted a sea change in people’s [...]
Government has the skeleton of a plan to fix UK housing: Now it needs the drive to actually do it February 7, 2017 The government’s Housing White Paper, released yesterday, was an attempt to get England to the 250,000 new homes a year required to reach housing need. It went in many good directions and created a skeleton of a system that could meet need – but in places it did not go far enough, and perhaps pulled [...]