Docklands News

Cautious buyers lured with pre-Christmas price drops

Asking prices have dropped 1.7% this month to an average of £302,023, marking the largest November drop since 2012, with the South East leading the way at a 2.1% decline. The price of newly marketed property across the UK is 0.2% cheaper than it was 12 months ago — the first national year-on-year price fall since November 2011. In Scotland, average asking prices are down by 1.3% month-on-month, while in Wales they have fallen by 1.2% . However the lowering of prices has signalled a slight uptick in activity, with a 1% year-on-year rise in the number of November sales. While prices typically edge down ahead of the Christmas period, Rightmove, which compiled the figures, said the data signals a higher-than-usual drop as sellers lower their demands in a bid to lure in cautious buyers amid Brexit uncertainty and wage stagnation. Rightmove also found that the average property took 61 days to sell, up from 56 days earlier this year, while the number of properties on the books of the average estate agent is 52, compared with 42-47 earlier this year.

Source:   City AM   The Times   The Guardian   Daily Mai    Daily Express (19/11/2018)

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London's unsold homes hits all-time high

The number of London’s unsold homes has rocketed to its all-time high as Brexit uncertainty and affordability issues dog the housing market, with Wandsworth and Croydon, respectively, harbouring the largest stockpiles. Some 2,374 units remain unsold as of September 30, according to data compiled by Molior London, up from 1,595 at the end of 2017.

Source:   Bloomberg (22/11/2018)

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CWG’s Wood Wharf plans gather pace

The Canary Wharf Group is making one its first forays into residential property, with a significant amount of build-to-rent stock, to be managed by its Vertus arm. A 327-unit building at 10 George Street, at Wood Wharf to the east of the Canary Wharf estate, will be the first to be completed, in December 2019, followed by 8 Water Street, with 174 units. The “flagship” of the Vertus estate, Newfoundland, to be finished in the second quarter of 2020, is a 60-storey, 636-apartment tower with a distinctive ‘diagrid’ design. Wood Wharf, one of the largest development sites in the capital, will eventually provide 3,300 new homes, almost 2m sq ft of office space, and 490,000 sq ft of shops, restaurants and community facilities.

Property Week (08/11/2018)

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Shared ownership flats on sale at Upton Gardens

West Ham United’s old Boleyn Ground is being redeveloped into residential property, with 842 homes planned for the Green Street scheme, built around the pitch space once graced by Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst. Private homes at Upton Gardens are priced from £347,990, rising to £511,990; however, a new tranche of less-expensive homes at the Barratt London site has just gone on the market, with a 35% share of a one-bedroom flat available from £115,500, and a two-bed from £139,650.

Evening Standard (05/11/2018)

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London buyers flock to high-return areas

New findings from Dataloft and Mount Anvil, the developer behind Canary Wharf’s Royal Docks West project, show that new flats in regenerating areas in London are the best buy for the long term. Sales prices of apartments in large regeneration projects have risen by an average of 17% per year between 2012 and 2016, in contrast to non-regeneration schemes in inner London, the report found. “We have observed a fundamental shift in the mindset of owner-occupiers in the past 18 months… Capital growth potential has emerged as [a critical factor], particularly in light of stamp duty costs,” says Mount Anvil’s Jon Hall.

Evening Standard (02/11/2018)

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House price growth weakest for five years, Halifax says

House prices are enduring their lowest rate of annual growth since March 2013, according to Halifax's latest house price index, leaving the average price of a house at £227,869 in October. The rate of annual growth slipped to 1.5% in the three months to October, the lowest annual rate seen since 2013 and a drop in growth rate of 1% from September. Jeremy Leaf, former RICS residential chairman, said however that "listings are increasing and four out of five sellers are said to be buyers - so there are some small grounds for optimism when the Brexit fog finally clears."

The Daily Telegraph (07/11/2018)

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