Docklands News

House prices fell at the fastest annual rate for 14 years in July, according to data from Nationwide. The 3.8% year-on-year decline was the steepest since July 2009. The fall took the average UK house price to £260,828, with this around £13,000 – or 4.5% - below a peak recorded in August 2022. Month-on-month, prices were down 0.2% in July. Noting that housing affordability “remains stretched” for those hoping to buy a home with a mortgage, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said a “challenging affordability picture helps to explain why housing market activity has been subdued in recent months.” Separate data from HMRC shows that house sales fell by 15% in June compared with the same month a year earlier. An estimated 85,870 transactions took place in June 2023 across the UK, which was 6% higher than in May this year. The report said that part of the month-on-month increase can be explained by a higher number of working days in June than in May.

BBC News (01/08/2023)   Evening Standard (01/08/2023)   The Daily Telegraph (01/08/2023)   The Guardian (01/08/2023)  

Industry data suggests that the housebuilding market has slowed in recent weeks, with rising mortgage costs having an impact on the purchase of new homes. Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities figures show that the number of energy performance certificates (EPC) issued to newly-built houses — a key forward indicator of housebuilding completions — fell by 13.5% year-on-year in Q2. The fall to 58,000 new homes was the steepest dip in a decade, excluding a 60% drop seen at the start of the pandemic. As well as pressure from mortgage costs, the construction industry has warned that tougher environmental regulations will see firms cutting back on new homes. 

The Sunday Times (30/07/2023)  

Almost 90,000 homeowners took out a mortgage with a term of 35 years or more last year, according to Financial Conduct Authority data analysed by wealth manager Quilter. The report shows that 88,000 borrowers took out a mortgage with a term of 35 years or more in 2022, up from about 69,600 the year before and 36,000 in 2020. More than 3,100 of the longer mortgages taken out last year had terms of 40 years or more. Last year more than 12,000 borrowers over the age of 41 took out a mortgage with a term of 30 to 35 years, meaning they could still be paying off their loan in retirement. Ben Tadd from broker Lucra Mortgages commented: "A longer mortgage term has become a basic necessity for many borrowers trying to ensure their monthly payments remain affordable.” 

The Times (29/07/2023)  

Get Living has been granted planning permission for more than 1,000 homes in east London’s former Olympic Village.  The three new blocks, unanimously approved by the London Legacy Development Corporation, complete the original masterplan for the East Village neighbourhood in Stratford. Originally built to house athletes for the 2012 London Olympics, East Village has now grown to a community of 6,500 people with 25 acres of public realm.  The final elements of the development, which have been designed by Howells and TP Bennett, range in height from eight to 40 storeys.   The N18 and N19 buildings will provide a total of 848 new rental homes, while N16 provides 504 students homes, 35% of which will be “affordable”, along with a new space for independent retailers. 

Development Finance Today (26/07/2023)   Housing Today (26/07/2023)  

Michael Gove has suggested the Government could offer more state-backed support for first-time buyers, as part of efforts to further tip the scales against second homeowners and speculative buyers. The levelling up secretary said: “We've already helped over three quarters of a million people to buy their first home since 2010 through programmes including Help to Buy, Right to Buy, and shared ownership. And we will go further later this year.” Mr Gove cited examples of buyers he would seek to further discriminate against, including those seeking to convert family homes into holiday lets, and speculative buyers “who have been seeking to invest only to inflate property prices”.

The Daily Telegraph (24/07/2023)  

New research shows that mortgage deals disappeared at a record rate in June as homeowners moved quickly to secure new deals before they became more expensive. The financial data analyst Moneyfacts found that the average shelf life of a mortgage deal was 12 days between June and July, beating the previous low of 15 days set last October when the mortgage market was tipped into chaos after the Government's disastrous mini-budget. Moneyfacts also said that savings bonds also swiftly disappeared with products being pulled after an average of 27 days, down from 34 days in June. In comparison, during the financial crisis in 2009, the average was 16 days. Aaron Strutt from the mortgage broker Trinity Financial said: "Bank of England rate hikes have put huge pressure on the mortgage sector, increasing funding costs and reducing mortgage availability. Lenders say that the ongoing spikes in mortgage applications mean they have been struggling to price their mortgages. If rates are available for too long, then the lenders use the allocated funds more quickly than normal".

The Sunday Times (23/07/2023)