Docklands News

The National Association of Property Buyers has urged the new Prime Minister to address Britain’s housing crisis, calling for “radical change”. The property group said there are growing fears of a rapid slowdown in a market which is “teetering on the brink”. Spokesman Jonathan Rolande said the sector required stability in its leadership and needed widespread reform to help the soaring numbers of people unable to buy or rent a property. “We must see the supply of property increase by empowering smaller builders with easier routes to get planning. Stamp Duty is archaic and needs a re-think which would increase fairness and free up off-market property – give pensioners a zero band when they move downmarket for example,” he said. “The Government should also look at increasing tax breaks for companies opening in areas where cheap housing is plentiful to take some strain off the south east. The new PM must be bold,” he added. Mr Rolande also stressed that many landlords are “keen to exit the market thanks to new regulation and the relatively poor financial return on buy to let.” 

City AM (07/09/2022)  

Construction output in the UK dipped for the second consecutive month in August as concerns about wider economic prospects led to a fall in demand. The S&P Global Construction PMI stood at 49.2 in August – up fractionally from the previous month but still below the crucial 50.0 mark and therefore a second month of contraction. Mark Robinson, chief executive at Scape, the public sector procurement authority, said that Liz Truss must act to provide "stability" to the construction industry. "Another month of declining activity is further evidence of market uncertainty created by inflation as developers focus on getting existing projects over the finish line before pressing ahead with new ones," Robinson said. "With the construction sector's energy bills set to rise more than fivefold, industry leaders will be looking to the new prime minister to tame inflation and deliver some stability for forward planning."

Financial Times (06/09/2022)   The Daily Telegraph (06/09/2022)   The Times (06/09/2022)  

Homeowners are rushing to lock in five-year mortgages with a growing number of lenders offering cheaper loans. Banks and building societies are increasingly offering cheaper five-year deals with concerned borrowers jumping on the opportunity to guarantee their repayments with rates expected to surge next year. Nationwide is offering a two-year fixed-rate deal for people remortgaging with 40% equity at 4.04% with a £999 fee. A five-year deal on the same terms is at just 3.59%. Meanwhile, HSBC's two-year rate for borrowers looking to refinance is 3.99% against a five-year rate of 3.53% while Halifax is offering a rate of 3.59% for two years and 3.41% for five. Meanwhile, City traders are betting that the Bank of England's official interest rate will rise from 1.75% to 4.25% by March, which could send today's best mortgage rates 2.5 percentage points higher. 

The Daily Telegraph (05/09/2022)  

A £1bn masterplan for the Carpenters Estate in Stratford has been submitted to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), proposing to deliver thousands of new homes across a “left-behind” 23-acre site in east London. The outline plans submitted by Populo Living, Newham Council’s housing delivery company, envisage one of London’s largest-ever estate regeneration programmes, with 2,151 new homes built across the 23-acre site and more than 50% available for social rent. A total of 314 existing homes will be restored to ensure that some existing council tenants and homeowners can remain on the estate. The masterplan will now be submitted to the London Legacy Development Corporation. Phase one of the plan has already begun, with the refurbishment of James Riley Point securing planning permission in May, and will see the first 136 homes completed by 2025. The second phase will see the refurbishment of existing flats, with the full regeneration expected to be completed in the late 2020s.

Construction Enquirer (30/08/2022)   Inside Housing (20/08/2022)  

House buyers in London are ‘gazundering' sellers by demanding reductions to an agreed sale price just before an exchange is about to take place. According to property experts gazundering is gathering pace as the housing market slowly begins to respond to wider economic problems. The market is showing the first signs of cooling amid rising interest rates and the cost of living squeeze. London law firm Osbornes Law estimated gazundering was currently happening in around half of all house sales. It said homebuyers justify the last minute price reduction by citing an issue from a survey such as damp. Simon Nosworthy, head of residential conveyancing at Osbornes Law, said: “Price chipping is a sign that the market is weaker and that the pendulum of power is swinging from the seller to the buyer.”

Evening Standard (30/08/2022)  

Experts say UK house prices could fall by 7% in the next two years as mortgage rates soar and the cost of living crisis gets worse. With the Office for National Statistics last week reporting a sharp drop in annual growth and Halifax data showing that prices fell for the first time in more than a year in July, analysts at Capital Economics have forecast a two-year downturn, with house prices falling by around 5% in 2023 and a further 2% in 2024. The experts believe demand will fall as buyers see budgets and confidence hit by rising mortgage rates, high inflation and a potential recession. Andrew Wishart, a senior property economist at Capital Economics, commented: “Areas where house prices are highest relative to incomes are most vulnerable. London and the South East are therefore likely to see the largest falls and the North and Wales the smallest.” 

Daily Express (29/08/2022)   Daily Mail (29/08/2022)