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Scotland has overtaken London as the fastest place for a seller to find a buyer for their home. In 2014, it took 36 days in London on average to secure a buyer, but this rose to 60 days by last year, according to new figures reported by the BBC. In contrast, the average time to secure a buyer fell from 66 days to 41 days over the same period in Scotland.
BBC News (06/08/2019)
Canary Wharf Group’s One Park Drive tower at Wood Wharf has topped out at 57 storeys, around 650 ft, making it the tallest residential building in the development. The upper 34 floors include bay apartments with double-height terraces set back into the building; the scheme also includes a library, cinema room and private health club, a spa and 60ft swimming pool. "This is set to be a new icon on the London skyline," Canary Wharf Group's Brian De'ath said of the 483-apartment tower, adding that its cylindrical structure “is a real contrast to the traditional skyscrapers” on the Isle of Dogs. Prices at One Park Drive start from £825,000.
East London Advertiser (30/07/2019) Prime Resi (30/07/2019)
Developer Rockwell has appointed John Sisk & Son for pre-construction services to build a 30-storey mixed use tower at Westferry, Canary Wharf. Construction on the West India Dock Road site, which will host 66 private residential units as well as a 400-bedroom hotel, restaurant and café, gym facilities, and a landscaped pocket park, begins this autumn.
Construction Enquirer (26/07/2019)
Leading architects and engineers have called for all-glass skyscrapers to be banned amid growing global temperatures, arguing they are too difficult and expensive to cool. Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio has said he will ban all-glass buildings and force developers to retrofit existing buildings to make them more energy-efficient, a move which Simon Sturgis, an adviser to the Government and the Greater London Authority, as well as chair of the Royal Institute of British Architects sustainability group, believes should be considered in the UK. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has previously ruled out such a plan for the capital. However, the new version of the London Plan will require construction firms to make an assessment of a building's energy use across its whole life-cycle.
The Observer (28/07/2019)
UK house price growth fell to 0.3% annually in July, remaining below 1% for the eighth consecutive month, according to Nationwide’s latest data, leaving the average UK house price at £217,663. Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former Rics residential chairman, warned that favourable conditions are being curtailed by the continuing Brexit uncertainty: "The market is very much in limbo," he said. Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, noted that London and the south east have dragged down the national picture - with year-on-year falls of 0.7% and 1.6% respectively. Nationwide’s data also revealed that over-65s are blocking young buyers from purchasing family homes, as it found two-thirds have at least two spare bedrooms.
City AM (31/07/2019) The Daily Telegraph (31/07/2019)
The number of UK mortgage approvals hit 66,400 in June, up from 65,650 in May, according to the Bank of England's latest data, above economists’ expectations and the highest number since January. In addition to a small boost from dodging a no-deal Brexit in March, record employment, sustained wage growth and low interest rates have boosted demand.
City AM (29/07/2019)