Docklands News

Analysis shows that house prices have climbed by 13,972% during the Queen’s reign. In 1952, the average UK house cost £1,891, according to Nationwide, while the current average is £260,771. The average house price is still 4.3 times higher in real terms than it was in 1952. Adjusting for inflation, the average 1952 house was worth £61,000. In the year the Queen took to the throne, just 32% of households owned their own home, compared with 65% today. 

The Mail on Sunday (05/06/2022)  

ONS data show London’s economic output grew 1.2% in the first three months of 2022 compared with the previous quarter - the highest of any UK region and outstripping the national average of 0.8%. 

Financial Times (07/06/2022)  

Developer Mount Anvil is set to get the go-ahead for updated plans for an Isle of Dogs regeneration scheme, drawn up by architects HTA Design. The developer previously obtained consent to deliver a 26-storey tower and low-rise houses and flats on a site bounded by Byng Street and Manilla Street on the Isle of Dogs last year. That scheme required the demolition of 24 houses and flats currently on the 0.3ha site south of Canary Wharf, and would have delivered 148 new properties. However, updated proposals recommended by Tower Hamlets planning officers increase the height of the tower to 31 storeys and deliver a total of 202 new homes – including replacement properties for those currently on the L-shaped sites. Tower Hamlets’ strategic development committee meets from 6.30pm on 8 June to consider the application.

Housing Today (31/05/2022)  

The Help to Buy property subsidy scheme is to close for applications six months early at the end of October. The final applications for loans will be accepted in October, with all of them to be processed over the following five months. A government source said the October deadline would allow enough time for customers to legally complete the purchase of their home before the scheme is wound up at the end of March.  

The Sunday Telegraph (29/05/2022)  

The number of mortgages approved by UK lenders has fallen to its lowest since June 2020, with 65,974 mortgages approved in April. This was down from 69,531 in March and 73,220 in January. The figures from the Bank of England also show that net mortgage borrowing dropped to £4.1bn last month from £6.4bn in March. Mortgage approvals for house purchases also fell, from 69,500 to 66,000. The average rate for a new mortgage rose to 1.82% in April, up from 1.5% in December after the Bank of England raised interest rates four times over the period to reach a 13-year high of 1%. Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said the figures showed slowing demand, adding that he expects housing market activity to continue to cool through 2022, with price growth “decelerating.” 

Financial Times (31/05/2022)   The Daily Telegraph (31/05/2022)   The Guardian (31/05/2022)   The Times (31/05/2022)  

Self-employed people are twice as likely to have mortgage applications rejected compared to salaried employees, new research from The Mortgage Lender has shown. The specialist home loan provider said 23% of self-employed individuals had had a mortgage application denied in the past, compared to just 12% of salaried workers. 'There are around 4.2m self-employed people in the UK, and it is typical for that number to grow when coming out of a recession, or in this case a pandemic also,” commented Peter Beaumont, chief executive at The Mortgage Lender. “While it may offer those workers more freedom, the major drawback of self-employment is the perception of income inconsistency, and consequently a greater challenge when it comes to borrowing large sums of money.” 

Daily Mail (28/05/2022)