Docklands News

London's housing market is expected to see an increase in 2025, despite years of muted price growth. Since 2019, house prices in the capital have risen by 12%, compared to 21% for the UK as a whole. Analysts expect 1.15m sales next year, 5% up on 2024, which will encourage sellers to increase asking prices. Mortgage lenders are also expected to be busy in 2025, as homeowners who took out a five-year fixed-rate mortgage during 2020's "race for space" remortgage are expected to be busy.

The Times (11/12/2024)  

Russian money laundering has driven up UK house prices, with an estimated £6.7bn of questionable funds invested in property since 2016, according to Transparency International. The organisation highlighted that £1.5bn of this comes from Russians linked to corruption or the Kremlin, with significant investments in Westminster (£430m) and Kensington and Chelsea (£283m). This influx of illicit wealth, particularly in London’s high-end market, has had ripple effects across the housing sector. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticised the use of London’s financial and property markets as tools for criminal activities. Writing in the Telegraph, they stated: "Britain needs to be making life as hard as possible for illicit finance," linking such activities to Putin’s regime, street gangs, and migrant smuggling operations. The Government has pledged to curb the exploitation of London’s financial system and mitigate its impact on housing affordability and crime. 

The Daily Telegraph (10/12/2024)  

In November, the average house price in the UK reached a record high of £298,083, marking a 1.3% increase, the largest rise this year. Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, noted: “Latest figures continue to show improving levels of demand for mortgages, as an easing in mortgage rates boost buyer confidence.” Despite this positive trend, Bryden cautioned that many buyers still face affordability challenges, stating: "A changeable economic backdrop may test buyer confidence." Northern Ireland experienced the strongest annual growth at 6.8%, while London maintained the highest average price at £545,439, up 3.5% from last year. Overall, property prices are up 4.8% annually, the highest increase since November 2022. 

BBC News (07/12/2024)   Daily Mail (07/12/2024)   The Guardian (07/12/2024)   The Standard (07/12/2024)  

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has revealed that the Government plans to "revolutionise" planning rules by allowing mayors to drive forward Labour's promise to build 1.5m homes. Under the ministers' preferred model, mayors would be able to call in "significant" planning applications and assume responsibility for approving or rejecting them. They would take charge of devising larger-scale development plans covering wider regions, with councils ordered to take part. Councils in areas without mayors would be required to make big decisions across local government boundaries. Rayner will set out plans to modernise the approval process by allowing applications that comply with local development plans to bypass committee approval. She denied that the Government was removing democratic power from councils and said the new streamlined approach was essential to end delays in building new homes, cut costs for individual schemes, and provide more certainty to housebuilders

Daily Mail (09/12/2024)   Financial Times (09/12/2024)   The Guardian (09/12/2024)   The Times (09/12/2024)  

The London Legacy Development Corporation has formed a 50-50 joint venture with Vistry Group to develop 948 homes next to Pudding Mill Lane DLR station in Stratford. Construction work on the homes, which are expected to have a gross development value of £600m, will begin in summer 2026, with full completion scheduled for 2033. Forty-five per cent of the properties will be classed as affordable, and will sit adjacent to 30,000 sq m of non-residential floor space to accommodate a mix of workspace, retail, community and leisure uses. 

Construction Enquirer (05/12/2024)   CoStar (05/12/2024)   Housing Today (05/12/2024)   The Construction Index (05/12/2024)  

UK house prices last month experienced an unexpected growth of 3.7%, up from 2.4% in October, marking the fastest increase in nearly two years, according to Nationwide. The average price reached £268,144, just 1% below the record high. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: “The acceleration in house price growth is surprising, since affordability remains stretched by historic standards.” Despite high prices and elevated interest rates, housing market activity has remained resilient, with mortgage approvals nearing pre-pandemic levels. Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, expressed scepticism about the sustainability of this growth, citing stretched price-to-income ratios but noted potential relief from expected drops in mortgage rates. Nationwide indicated that recent figures were largely unaffected by Labour's first budget, as most mortgage applications were initiated prior to the budget announcement.

BBC News (02/12/2024)   City AM (02/12/2024)   The Standard (02/12/2024)   The Times (02/12/2024)