Privatising the Land Registry sounds like a great idea – but this is why it’s not May 27, 2016 It not uncommon to read about government policy decisions and count yourself lucky that you’re not the one making them. But when it comes to the current debate over whether to privatise the Land Registry, while a good idea on the surface, rejecting this proposal should be a no-brainer. It may not be a conundrum on [...]
Are you a GloMad or Tumbleweeder? Discover the London housing tribes that’ll be determining the property landscape May 26, 2016 Every week, City A.M. invites an industry professional to write about an emerging trend in the property market. Are you a MeCo, a Tumbleweeder, or perhaps a My Sizer? These are London’s new housing tribes. Through Strutt & Parker’s latest Housing Futures research, we discovered that 65 per cent of Londoners who intend to move [...]
Property Entrepreneurs: Johns & Co founder John Morley on how he plans to improve landlord-tenant relations May 26, 2016 For too many of London’s flat dwellers, their experience of property management has been wondering why repairs take so long and why calls for help go unanswered. Part of the problem lies in the fact developers have little long term interest in management once they have sold all the apartments in a scheme, so, all [...]
Focus On Deptford: First time buyers flock to SE8 in search of affordable homes, but is it the new Shoreditch? May 26, 2016 In Tudor times, Deptford was the centre of the naval world. Operated by the Royal Navy from the mid-16th to the late 19th century, the Deptford Docks maintained warships for 350 years and attracted the greatest mariners of the time to its shores, from Sir Water Raleigh to Sir Francis Drake. But once the navy [...]
Families pay £43,773 on homes that will get their children into the best schools May 26, 2016 It turns out that some state schools aren't fee-free at all: families looking to get their children into the best primary schools are paying a hefty premium to live in the right catchment area. Research released today shows that families shell out an average £43,773 to live within the catchment area of a primary school that [...]
Only one in four estate agents think Brexit would hit house prices May 26, 2016 Most estate agents are confident that the demand for housing in Britain is so strong that Brexit would fail to dampen it. New research out today shows that only one in four estate agents think demand would weaken in Britain votes to leave the EU in the June referendum. In the survey from National Association of [...]
BBA: UK high street banks approved fewer mortgages than expected in April as stamp duty surge ends May 26, 2016 The number of mortgages approved by high street banks last month fell more than expectations, after a surge in the start of the year driven by the rush to buy before new stamp duty charges came in. BBA figures out this morning show that the number of mortgages approved in April fell to 40,104 – [...]
Should we blame empty foreign-owned apartments for London’s housing crisis? The data says no May 26, 2016 London's housing crisis is worsened, maybe even caused, by wealthy foreigners buying up properties and leaving them empty. Right? It’s an attractive argument, identifying a specific and unpopular culprit (the global rich) while spreading the notion that they are to blame for most of today’s social and economic problems. Unfortunately, in this case, the figures [...]
Buy to let investors are feeling the heat: What are the alternatives for gaining exposure to residential property? May 26, 2016 The buy-to-let boom of recent years has fed the stereotype that Brits are uniquely obsessed with property. Yet statistically this appears to be little more than a myth. The latest data from Eurostat show that 64.8 per cent of the UK adult population lives in a property they own compared to an EU average of [...]
How Artisan brought craft to rapidly gentrifying Fitzrovia May 25, 2016 They say that when you walk the streets of London, look up. And when you walk down Tottenham Court Road to the corner of Goodge Street, definitely look up, because there’s a remarkable piece of architecture unveiled this spring that has revitalised this centuries-old street corner. From the outside it cleverly blends what had been [...]