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The housing market is "pretty much flatlining" amid growing concerns about Brexit and political uncertainty, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' said in its report for July. Some 69% of property professionals said that sales prices were coming in below asking prices for homes marketed at more than £1m. Meanwhile for properties on the market for up to £500,000, 59% of surveyors reported that sales prices were at least level with asking prices. A net balance of 9% of surveyors reported house prices falling rather than increasing.
City AM (07/08/2019)
Experian’s Credit Barometer has revealed that the average amount a first-time buyer needs to raise for a deposit increased by 17% over the last year. The average deposit amount for a first-time buyer is £30,945. The average amount people said they had saved for their deposit in July 2018 stood at £26,498. This suggests that those looking for a mortgage are having to save an increasing amount to secure their first home. “Our barometer shows it continues to remain challenging for younger people to get their first foot onto the property ladder with deposits continuing to grow, which means finding the right mortgage deal to make the most of their deposit is crucial,” said Amir Goshtai, managing director of Experian Marketplace and Affinity.
Mortgage Introducer (02/08/2019)
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)