Docklands News

The Independent's Phil Thornton warns that the property market boom will hit young people the hardest. As Nationwide data reveals the strongest rise in residential property values for 17 years, Mr Tornton believes that "home ownership will simply become yet more unaffordable for young people, and for key workers who were already priced out of many areas before COVID-19." He adds that "this will exacerbate the intergenerational wealth gap and favour those who rely on the 'bank of Mum and Dad'."

The Independent (05/07/2021)  

A new regulator will be set up with the power to prosecute property developers that do not meet safety standards, the Government has announced. The new safety regime is designed to prevent any repetition of the Grenfell Tower disaster. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick will unveil the plans in the Government's Building Safety Bill today. The new system would reassure "the vast majority" of residents, he said. He also said the new regulator would provide "essential oversight at every stage of a building's lifecycle, from design,?construction, completion to occupation". A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said the bill would ensure there were clearly identified people responsible for the safety of the design, build and occupation of high rise buildings. 

BBC News (04/07/2021)  

Hackney has been named as the London borough with the most streets covered by low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes, with LTNs in force in 55% of streets for which they are considered appropriate. The annual survey, by the Healthy Streets Scorecard coalition, found that Waltham Forest had the second highest level of LTN coverage (47%), followed by Newham with 40%. By contrast, fewer than 5% of roads in Croydon, Barking and Dagenham and Bexley were in LTNs, while Islington was found to be the capital's top "healthy streets" borough overall, followed by Hackney and Camden. The overall assessment included other factors like pedestrian and cyclist casualties, school streets schemes, and 20mph limits. 

Evening Standard (07/07/2021)  

Pre-pandemic, it was easy to dismiss Canary Wharf as a business district where people only lived because they worked there. However, even in the post-COVID "new normal", where many financial and legal professionals are likely to be offered the chance to conduct business from home at least some of the time, there are plenty of reasons to want to live in one of the district's new luxury apartments. Options include the £2.645m three-bed Executive Collection apartment at South Quay Plaza, a two-bed penthouse at Wardian for £2.35m, and a three-bed, triplex penthouse  - with a double-height room dedicated to a panoramic Jacuzzi - in Dollar Bay for £3.999m. Nearly everyone is buying them as a primary residence and they are attracted to the new parks, gardens and riverside boardwalk in the first completed phase of our new neighbourhood, Wood Wharf", explains Brian De'ath, head of residential sales at Canary Wharf Group. The Far East Consortium, meanwhile, has developed Aspen, a 65-storey residential tower. Project director Bruno Santos says the building is as much about its services and amenities as its residences, from the hotel doctor on call to vending machines selling freshly-made bread. “We’re seeing a lot of interest from families who don’t work in Canary Wharf but want to live there because it’s an easily walkable neighbourhood,” he said.

The Daily Telegraph (30/06/2021)  

Nationwide figures show that UK house prices rose 13.4% in the year to June, the fastest pace since November 2004. The average house price increased to a record high of £245,432 from £216,403 in June 2020. The data show that all parts of the UK saw a rise in house prices in Q2, with Northern Ireland and Wales seeing the largest year-on-year increases, with values up 14% and 13.1% respectively. Month-on-month, UK house prices were up 0.7%. Price rises have been driven by a number of factors, including the stamp duty holiday and a mortgage guarantee scheme to help people with a 5% deposit get on the property ladder. Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner commented: “Activity will almost inevitably soften for a period after the stamp duty holiday expires at the end of September, given the strong incentive for people to bring forward their purchases to avoid the additional tax.” 

BBC News (29/06/2021)   Daily Mail (29/06/2021)   Financial Times (29/06/2021)   Sky News (29/06/2021)  

Analysts are predicting that Britain's property buying bonanza will top a record-breaking £100bn this summer, with buyers expected to snap up 420,000 homes during this month, July and August - spending a record £107bn. That would make it the highest grossing quarter in UK residential market history. The rush to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday, higher wages, the COVID vaccine success and a stronger post-pandemic economy are fuelling the spending surge, according to JLL. Nick Whitten, head of living research at JLL, said: "Our data suggests this post-lockdown summer will set a new record... We can expect to see demand swallowing up available stock, pushing up prices." The spike in activity will be particularly evident in the north of England, which is predicted to see around 100,000 sales - around 25% of the total UK.

Sunday Express (27/06/2021)