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An estimated 600,000 people in England living in "unsellable" high-rise flats caught up in the fallout from the Grenfell Tower disaster could be stuck for years to come. Lenders want mortgage applicants to provide independent evidence that a flat meets stringent safety requirements, and L&Q - which houses about 250,000 people in more than 95,000 homes – now says most housing associations predicted the majority of buildings would need some remedial work, and “we expect our programme to take several years to deliver." Previously, it had been suggested such "mortgage prisoners" could be stuck for six to 12 months.
The Guardian (28/12/19)
There were 32,260 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in October, according to research from UK Finance, 2.8% more than the same month last year. The number of home mover mortgages completed in the month increased 4.2% on the same month last year, reaching 33,370, though the number of buy-to-let home purchase mortgages slipped 1.5% to 6,600. There were 18,910 new remortgages with additional borrowing, down 20.8%, while the number of new remortgages without additional borrowing also fell by 20%.
City AM (17/12/2019) The Independent (17/12/2019)
Canary Wharf Group is to launch its first development on the privately-owned Canary Wharf estate, a collection of 327 apartments at 10 George Street, available to lease from early 2020. The design of the 37-storey building, in the Wood Wharf district, has been spearheaded by GRID Architects; the open-plan apartments are fully-furnished by Camerich, with high-specification appliances throughout. The studio to three-bedroom apartments will start from £1,959 per calendar month.
Property Magazine International (17/12/2019) Construction News (17/12/2019)
Ballymore and Oxley have topped out on the final, and tallest, residential building at Royal Wharf in East London. Over 2,833 homes have been handed over to date, and when complete in 2020, the project will have been delivered at pace in an ambitious timeframe of over five years. The masterplan was designed by Glenn Howells Architects. Sean Mulryan, chairman and group chief executive of Ballymore, said: “When we complete next year, there’ll be 3,385 incredible homes, right by the river, with almost 50% open space and fantastic public amenities – not just for our residents, but also for our wider community in Newham”.
Planning, BIM and Construction News Today (19/12/2019)
Halifax expects house price growth to remain subdued at between 1% and 3% in 2020, saying that increases will remain low in a market where young buyers are held back by large deposit requirements. Halifax’s forecast for 2019 had suggested prices would rise by 2% and 4%, with prices subsequently climbing 2.1% over the year to November 2019. Russell Galley, Halifax’s managing director, said 2019 saw modest price growth supported by falling mortgage rates and a low volume of houses for sale, which “helped to underpin a degree of resilience in the market.” Prospects for 2020 appear “a bit brighter”, he added, “with uncertainty in the economy falling back somewhat, transactions volumes anticipated to pick up and further price increases made possible by growth in households’ real incomes”.
The Guardian (19/12/2019) The Times (19/12/2019)
The Grade II*-listed Balfron Tower in Poplar is undergoing a two-year redevelopment by Londonewcastle and award-winning architects Studio Egret West and Ab Rogers Design (ARD), giving the 146 apartments in the Brutalist landmark a modern touch. The nine-storey service tower is having each of its levels converted from utilities and boiler rooms to house recreational facilities, including cooking, yoga, table-tennis, music, a library, a gym and a cinema. A new rooftop garden will provide hydroponic growing towers where residents can produce edible plants, while a public square at ground level is surrounded by landscaped gardens. The apartments themselves have been fitted out with shelving and cabinetry in the kitchen, Corian worktops, Marmoleum flooring and, in some, a high-level breakfast bar-style island. “The greatest challenge was to make the apartments relevant to today’s living without losing the integrity of Goldfinger’s designs”, says ARD’s Ab Rogers. The scheme is due to be completed in summer 2020; prices for a one-bedroom apartment start at £365,000.
Evening Standard (09/12/2019)