Docklands News

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that UK house prices fell 0.1% in the year to September, marking the first annual decline in 11 years. The average sale value, including cash buyers, fell to £291,385, with this down from £292,882 in August. The annual drop was steepest in Wales, where house prices in September were down 2.7%, while England saw prices dip 0.5%. Scotland, however, saw prices climb 2,5% year-on-year, while prices in Northern Ireland rose 2.1%. Prices in London fell by 1.1% over the year and 0.3% over the month, to an average of £537,000. In north-east England, the region with the lowest prices, there was a 1.6% annual rise, to £163,000. Separately, Halifax has found that Ealing has seen the strongest house price growth in the capital over the past year. The west London borough saw prices rise 7.5% to £531,137. The only other London boroughs to see growth over the past year were Westminster and the City, where they grew 7.4% to £767,350, Haringey (up 1.7% to £530,584), and Southwark (up 0.3% to £481,589).

Daily Mail (15/11/2023)   Evening Standard (14/11/2023)   The Guardian (15/11/2023)   The Times (15/11/2023)  

The Mirror reports on analysis showing that London's housing stock has grown by 8% since mayor Sadiq Khan took office in 2016, compared to 6% growth for the rest of England. If the rest of the country had matched London's rate of growth, the paper notes, "it would have meant a 300,000 increase across the country - equal to the Government’s housing target for an entire year". Affordable housing providers have urged the Government to adopt recent recommendations from London's Housing Delivery Taskforce, including increased investment in council home-building and clarifying confusion over fire safety rules that is stalling development. 

The Mirror (11/11/2023)  

The pandemic has caused a shift in homeowner preferences, with open-plan living being abandoned in favor of "single function" spaces. Homeowners are reinstating walls, adding partitions, and building extensions to create private spaces that are sheltered from distractions. Research suggests that dividing up a property can increase its value, with a dedicated home office adding 4% to the home's value, according to insurer Direct Line's analysis of UK property listings. Interior designers and architects have observed a demand for private spaces due to the cohabitation and long-term adoption of working from home. The shift towards "single function" spaces reflects the evolving needs of families and the desire for privacy and focus in a post-pandemic world. 

The Daily Telegraph (13/11/2023)  

Knight Dragon says it will begin work on the construction of two Greenwich Peninsula tower blocks with no "affordable" accommodation in 2024, after plans for the buildings were rubber-stamped by Greenwich Council earlier this week. Vacant land between the Millennium Way roundabout, outside the O2, and the River Thames, will play host to two blocks of 36 and 20 storeys, along with commercial units and a three-storey cycle storage unit, forming the first phase of the Meridian Quays neighbourhood, which will eventually host 17,500 new homes.

The Greenwich Wire (08/11/2023)  

Halifax has reported that house prices rose 1.1% between September and October, ending a run of six consecutive monthly falls. However, they were still down 3.2% compared with October last year. It means the average UK property prices rose to £281,974 last month, an increase of nearly £3,000. This is down £11,000 from the August 2022 peak but still £42,600 above the level in February 2020, before the pandemic. Halifax also reported an annual decline of 2.4% in prices for first-time buyers. Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said: "Prospective sellers appear to be taking a cautious attitude, leading to a low supply of homes for sale. This is likely to have strengthened prices in the short term, rather than prices being driven by buyer demand, which remains weak overall. While many people will have seen their income grow through wage rises, higher interest rates and wider affordability pressures continue to be challenges for buyers".

Financial Times (07/11/2023)   I (07/11/2023)   The Times (07/11/2023)