Posts with tag: London housing

London Home Earns Owners £130 an Hour

Published On: May 13, 2015 at 1:21 pm

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A terraced home in London earns its owners £130 an hour due to spiralling property prices in the last decade.

The house was bought for £3.32m in 2006 and is now on the market for £13m, making a profit of almost £10m.

The property is situated near Holland Park, Kensington, which is one of the most expensive places to buy a home in the UK. It is not far from the shops and museums in the surrounding area.

The government of the Canadian state of Quebec currently owns the home in Ilchester Place and use it for diplomats living in London. It was purchased in October 2006 and is now marketed by estate agent John D Wood & Co.

If it sold for the asking price of £13m, it will have made the state £9.68m, which works out at around £130 for every hour they have owned the house.

This property has seen the impact of the price boom in central London over the last few years. In 2014, the average home in London increased in value by 17.4%.

The prime central London housing market has also been boosted in the past week after the Conservatives’ victory in the general election. Buyers have streamed into the market with the knowledge that they will not be hit by a mansion tax.

The location of the property is also home to celebrities such as the Beckhams, Robbie Williams and Jimmy Page.

The house has eight bedrooms, four bathrooms, two cloakrooms and three storage rooms. Buyers will also enjoy the drawing room, dining room, study, breakfast room and pantry.

However, although the property has a huge price tag, new residents will need to conduct updating work, says the estate agent. Apparently the home has planning permission to increase its floor space by 30%.

The house has a garden at the front and back and boasts two patio areas.

 

 

Developers Pay £800m Less for Social Housing in London

Published On: May 13, 2015 at 9:31 am

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Developers have paid £800m less than was needed for social housing in London since 2011, found new research from market intelligence organisation Estates Gazette.

Between 2004-11, 74 social homes were built for every 100 private new builds. By 2014, this number had dropped to 40 per 100.

Estates Gazette believes that the shortfall could be down to a 60% cut in social housing funding in the last government’s 2010 spending review.

Data Editor at the group, Nadia Elghamry, says: “Historically, 75 affordable homes have been built for every 100 private units, but since the spending review in 2010 which saw a Tory-led government policy slash the housing subsidy by 60%, it has dropped substantially.

Developers Pay £800m Less for Social Housing in London

Developers Pay £800m Less for Social Housing in London

“Now just 40 social homes are built for every 100. That means at a time when starts on private homes in London have reached a two-decade high, we have seen the proportion of expected affordable housing nearly halve.

“The theory was that cash contributions paid by developers rather than physically building homes on site should have plugged this gap. They have not.”1 

For the same ratio of 2004-11 levels to be sustained, a further 17,297 social homes should have been started since 2012.

Between 2011-13, developers paid almost £467m towards provision for social units rather than actually building the homes themselves.

The Estates Gazette’s study estimates that £1.3 billion would have been needed to cover the cost of the missing homes.

This figure was calculated by assuming the cost of building a home in London is £72,500, not including the cost of land.

The money put towards social housing provision by developers is part of section 106 (S106) funding. This measure allows the proportion of homes to social housing to be exchanged for a financial contribution to the local authority where the development is being built.

Between 2004-10, 70 projects used an S106 agreement, with the money expected to go towards social units. After the coalition government’s spending review, this figure rose to 70 in 2012 and 2013, and 88 in 2014.

The Estates Gazette’s report states: “Simply put, even when assuming no land cost, S106 contributions have not been enough to mitigate the loss in either on- or off-site affordable housing provision.”1 

Chief Executive of housing charity Shelter, Campbell Robb, says: “Only clear rules on how many affordable homes must be built will turn the tide on this worrying trend. Up until 2008, there was a 50% affordable housing target for new developments in London and more genuinely affordable homes were built as a result. There’s no reason this can’t work again.

“Both the mayor and central government need to reinstate clear rules for developers on affordable house building and finally start to curb London’s drastic shortage. If they don’t, ordinary Londoners face being priced out of the city altogether.”1

1 http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/may/12/800m-shortfall-social-housing-london

 

Exciting New Developments in London’s Hotspots

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 12:45 pm

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London’s new build development projects are set to take off this summer as election fever wanes.

Homebuyers held off ahead of the general election, but now that the polling is over, it is believed that developers will launch their schemes soon. Building more houses was important for all political parties, and many organisations are supporting the work.

At present, 51,120 new properties are being built in London, beating the annual target of 42,000 and double the high of 2007.

Industry analyst MoliorLondon says that the capital has seen a “ballooning in development activity”1 since the start of 2015.

Research has found that sales of luxury homes, priced over £1.5m, have fallen by a huge 76%. Homes costing under £500,000 now make up two thirds of all sales, often to first time buyers.

Developers are now working harder to sell homes, with some dropping prices and offering incentives.

Barratt Homes has given end-of-financial-year deals at projects including Great West Quarter, Brentford and Queensland Terrace, Highbury. Prices start at £480,000.

Bellway is offering up to £12,000 Stamp Duty savings at commuter developments including Silk Meadows, Braintree.

Exciting New Developments in London's Hotspots

Exciting New Developments in London’s Hotspots

The next few weeks should see a host of schemes launching that were halted during the election campaigns. Take a look at some of the best:

St Clement’s is an inventive redevelopment in a derelict listed Victorian hospital in Mile End. With 252 homes, the project is a mix of refurbished apartments and new builds. The scheme is part of London’s Community Land Trust, which aims to link the cost of 23 properties to the average median wage in the area. One-bedroom flats will cost from around £150,000. The rest are on the open market, some are shared-ownership, and start at £325,000.

Leyton boasts renovated shops due to the Olympics. Lea Valley borders Hackney Marshes and Wanstead Flats, including the largest areas of open space in the capital.

The Exchange is situated next to Leyton Midland Road Overground station, with large, good value for money homes. Three-bedroom apartments start at £389,995 and houses are from £574,995.

With Crossrail arriving soon, Acton has been booming. The area is seeing an influx of young renters and buyers priced out of Shepherd’s Bush. Park Grove includes 50 flats overlooking Acton Park, with prices from £400,000.

In the middle of London’s legal quarter, Temple is not the most obvious residence. Aldwych Chambers on Essex Street has an arched entrance to the Inner Temple chambers and gardens. The new project has 20 flats with luxury interiors, and two penthouses have views of the River Thames. Prices start at £1m.

Clapham Old Street has seen huge growth recently, with galleries, organic food stores and boutiques opening. Run-down architecture is being renovated into fresh new homes on sites around the Polygon.

The Polygon was built in 1792 in the heart of the Old Town. Gyms, an arthouse cinema and Tube links will appeal to the young, while families can enjoy the pond and cafes. On Bedford Road, Listello Buildings is a new development including 58 apartments from £569,995.

Redeveloped Bayswater is no longer the wrong side of Hyde Park due to luxury projects. A run-down hotel in Leinster Square has been converted into homes with grand interiors. Prices start at £4.2m.

Blackfriars Road forms part of the new cycle superhighway between Elephant and Castle, and King’s Cross. Work on this boulevard-like section, which will be safe for cyclists, will include shops and cafes.

The Residence project will have 86 flats and shops at street level. Prices are from £765,000. The Chroma Buildings in Lancaster Street will also have 40 flats starting from £575,000.

Wimbledon has a picturesque village centre and beautiful common reaching Putney Vale. Houses and apartments bordering this green space boast the highest prices.

New developments here are rare and are usually small. Wimbledon Hill Park, however, has 110 homes in 19-acre grounds. The walled estate used to be a hospital, mixing traditional and modern architecture to form new builds and conversions, a concierge, gym and residents’ club. Prices range from £1,375,000 to £4,950,000.

The Grays is a development of 13 apartments from £895,000.

Appealing to the young priced out of Notting Hill, Queen’s Park contains small Victorian red-brick cottages originally build for artists and manual workers. They now cost seven-figure sums. The wider area’s Victorian and Edwardian homes are attracting high earners.

Queen’s Park Place is a new build project of 116 apartments in Salusbury Road, a family-friendly community with a farmers’ market, bistros and delis. Prices begin at £500,000.

1 http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/new-homes/get-quick-latest-new-build-homes-londons-emerging-hotspots

 

Average First Time Buyer Home in London is £300,000

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 11:30 am

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The average price paid for a property by a first time buyer in London has exceeded £300,000 for the first time.

In the rest of the UK, the average price for the same buyer is just £155,782.

First time buyers in the capital must also raise a deposit of over £67,000, compared with £25,890 elsewhere.

Average First Time Buyer Home in London is £300,000

Average First Time Buyer Home in London is £300,000

Data from Your Move and Reeds Rains indicates that although the average starter home in London is now £304,205, around 9,100 first time buyers purchased a home in the capital in the first quarter (Q1) of 2015.

This figure was 11,700 in Q1 2014, but the average starter home was £266,497 then. However, the amount of first time buyers is likely to grow again, as high-end buyers tail off.

The latest House Price Index from Land Registry reveals that property prices in the capital are beginning to steady, at a slight 0.2% rise in the last month.

However, this will not help aspiring buyers, who saw a huge increase last year, meaning the annual price rise is 11.3% and the average house price is £462,700. This is two and a half times the average value in England and Wales of £178,007.

London’s resilient prices mean that outer areas, which offer better value for money, are benefitting from more buyers. More expensive boroughs of the capital are barely seeing rises above inflation.

The best performing areas of the capital in the last year were Newham, up 19% to an average of £291,364, and Greenwich, up 18.8% to £353,926.

The worst area was Kensington and Chelsea, where average prices increased 5.2% to just under £1.3m.

The borough saw the highest property price growth during the coalition government, at just under 48% in five years. Two other Conservative areas, the City of London and the City of Westminster, experienced increases of over 40% in the same period.

Just three Labour constituencies were in the top ten property price performers, Tooting and Islington North, both up 38.2%, and Tottenham at 35.7%.

The only places surpassing London’s rises are the commutable and fairly inexpensive areas of Thurrock, Hertfordshire and Reading, which have all experienced increases of 13%.

 

London’s New Developments with On-Site Schools

Published On: May 11, 2015 at 10:56 am

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London has experienced a dramatic squeeze to school places due to its rising population. This year, one in six primary school children did not get into their top choice of school.

However, new housing developments in the capital could help, as many are including on-site schools.

King’s Cross

King’s Cross Academy is a new primary school within one of London’s biggest regeneration schemes. The school is beneath the 14-storey Plimsoll Building, which includes 255 new apartments.

The school is now taking applications for two reception classes and a 26-place nursery, which will open in September. 420 places will be available at the academy, which will share buildings with Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children, and all children will be taught sign language.

The developer, Argent, says that families from nearby Islington are now considering King’s Cross. They are drawn to the school and family-orientated features, such as fountains in Granary Square and Gasholder Park, opening later this year.

Emyr Fairburn, headteacher of the school, predicts that 25% of pupils will live in the new apartments. He is pushing for partnerships with businesses such as Google, Waitrose Cookery School and Eurostar.

Fairburn says: “Many are from homes with no outdoor space.

“The children can see the station through our huge windows. Train drivers will be coming in for talks and pupils will be able to visit Paris, as we’ve adopted French as a main language.”1 

Kensington and Chelsea

Kensington and Chelsea is the worst area in the UK for school places. Just 61% of children in the borough received their top choice. However, 210 new primary school and 26 nursery places will be available from September 2016, when the £16m Kensington Primary Academy opens a reception class.

St Edward, in partnership with the council, is building the school at the 375 Kensington High Street development, where homes cost upwards of £925,000.

Wandsworth

Schools in Wandsworth have been so oversubscribed that from September 2016, the council is abolishing the sibling priority rule.

Taylor Wimpey has recently been approved a new Battersea development in the Nine Elms area. 290 private and affordable homes will be built, alongside a new building at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, including a new early years centre. The school is the Evening Standard’s flagship for the Get London Reading campaign.

Growing demand

The Government predicts that the country will need 200,000 more primary school places by 2020. The locations of these spots may lead families into areas they would not have looked at before.

Dalston was recently named the coolest place to live, and could attract more families, as Telford Homes has partnered with the Holy Trinity Primary School at the Vibe housing scheme to build a primary school that will open next year.

The Ferrier Estate in Greenwich is being transformed by Berkeley Homes’ Kidbrooke Village, a £1 billion regeneration project. The new neighbourhood will include Wingfield Primary School, and is opening seven years earlier than planned.

Barratt Homes has recently gained planning permission for a development in Kingsbrook, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. 2,450 new homes will be built, alongside two primary schools and hopefully a secondary school, potentially opening by 2019.

Project Director at Barratt Homes, Darren Farmer, says: “The new schools and facilities will make Kingsbrook a desirable location for families.”1

Dagenham has had a problem with school places recently, but All Saints School has recently begun a £7.1m renovation project. The Catholic school for 11-18-year-olds will take 300 more pupils by 2020 in the new three-storey building, including four science labs and a food technology room.

Year 11 pupil Holly Boyes says that her school is now happier: “Being in a better, brighter environment helps your learning.”1

Headteacher Kevin Wilson also thinks the school has been transformed: “There’s a really positive feeling among staff and students.”1

Their future

Young families are attracted to these new developments, as schools provide a solid foundation for their children’s futures.

Mabs Alam, 38, and Shamsun Nahar, 35, have bought a three-bedroom terraced house at Arboretum in Epping, Essex, after having their six-month-old child.

Higgins Homes has rebuilt St John’s Church of England School at the project.

Shamsun says: “We knew we’d found the perfect place. We’re hopeful our daughter will benefit from living in a secure neighbourhood.”1

1 http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/new-homes/guide-londons-new-build-developments-site-primary-schools

 

 

 

 

Cheapest Place to Rent in London Revealed

Published On: May 7, 2015 at 4:19 pm

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Plumstead in South East London has been named the most affordable place to rent in the capital, found property portal Rightmove.

Rightmove researched the average asking rents of two-bedroom properties in London and discovered that Plumstead is the cheapest, at £1,143 per month. This is a huge seven times cheaper than the most expensive in Mayfair. 

Cheapest Place to Rent in London Revealed

Cheapest Place to Rent in London Revealed

Demand for rental accommodation in the capital has reached record highs in the last year, with a 69% rise in email enquiries from home-hunters to letting agents.

The South East and East London feature strongly in the top 20 cheapest areas, with Middle Park the second most affordable at £1,192 a month and Eltham the third at £1,195.

In Greater London, the average asking rent for a two-bed is £2,216 per month, an increase of over 6% in the last 12 months from £2,086. This also rose faster than the previous annual growth of 3.7%.

It is believed that the Outer London market is fuelling these increases, as the average rent here has risen by 8.4% in the past year to £1,493, compared with the smaller growth of 2.3% the year before.

Head of Lettings at Rightmove, Sam Mitchell says: “Rental asking prices have been steadily increasing in the past few years, following a short lull post-Olympics.

“Those struggling to find a place they can afford could consider these more affordable areas, and visit them to see if they would suit their lifestyle. Factors like being close to a tube station or a good school will always come at a premium, but it will help if you’re looking in an area with a below average London rental price to begin with.”1

Lettings Manager at Robinson Jackson, Alexa Joyeux adds: “We started noticing an increased demand for Plumstead among tenants when the DLR opened in nearby Woolwich in 2009. As soon as work started on the Crossrail station, enquiries stepped up another gear.

“In fact, in the last 18 months, we have seen rental values rise in the region of 20% as tenants position themselves in Plumstead ahead of Crossrail’s opening.

“We’ve also noticed a change in the type of tenant applying for properties; they’re coming from further afield and many of those have been priced out of areas like Bow in East London and South West London boroughs.

“Plumstead, for the time being, retains a level of affordability mixed with a good housing stock – lots of pretty Victorian terraces – wide open spaces that include Plumstead Common, Winn’s Common and Oxleas Woods, plus a very short journey to the revived and regenerated Woolwich town centre.”1

1 http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/5/plumstead-named-most-affordable-rental-spot-and-in-london