Tag Archives: city
Some 200,000 new homes announced for the east of London
A new masterplan has been unveiled that will see 200,000 new homes built in the east of London, adding to a number of major developments already taking place in the area. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced the City in the East masterplan which includes development from London Bridge to the Isle of Dogs and Greenwich Peninsula, right through to Ilford in Essex and Dartford in Kent. He said that it is designed to bring together a vast number of major developments that are already taking place in the capital, known as designated Opportunity Areas, which have been identified as London's major source of brownfield land with significant capacity for new housing, commercial space and other development. In 2004, the Mayor's Office estimated East London had the capacity for 52,000 new homes. But detailed modelling, which includes linking 13 Opportunity Areas, carried out by City Hall but now a minimum of 203,500 homes could be delivered over the next 20 years. The City in the East document also contains a series of maps, which for the first time brings to life how the city is moving eastwards, covering much of the Thames Gateway, and could benefit from improvements to transport infrastructure such as Crossrail and HS1. Plans show an overground extension to Barking Riverside, which will enable the creation of 10,000 new homes and could be operational by 2020. The blueprint also includes longer term potential to place the A13 in a tunnel, deliver a new station and build new homes in the area. These projects are one of a number being made possible by Transport for London's Growth Fund, which is designed to target transport improvements in areas where there is potential to unlock new homes and jobs. It envisages how land across East London could be split up for commercial and industrial use and suggests where new schools, work space and hospitals could be located. ‘East London is already enjoying incredible growth and the City in the East plans reflect how we make the area an even better place to live and work over the next 20 years,’ said Johnson. ‘This blueprint reflects identified areas of land in London to build on and it will allow us to co-ordinate not only housing and commercial developments, but significant transport infrastructure to ensure this part of the capital can continue to flourish with hundreds of thousands of new jobs that will help the capital to remain the best big city in the world,’ he added. According to Alex Williams, director of borough planning at Transport for London, said that east London is expected to be one of the largest growth areas in the capital, with the population set to increase by 600,000 in the next 15 years. ‘Transport schemes such as the Overground extension to Barking Riverside and new river crossings will truly transform the area. London's transport network is vital to the economic and social wellbeing of this city… Continue reading
UK rental market sees sharp rise in demand for one bed flats
Rent rises for one bedroom flats in the UK accelerated sharply in September, sparked by high demand from recent graduates renting to live near their first job, new research has found. Rents for one beds saw an annual rise of 3.9%, from 2.9% in August, reaching an average of £1,054 according to the monthly Landbay Rental Index. The new index, which launched last month, is the first to track rental trends to the county and London borough level in combination with the number of bedrooms. Edinburgh with a rise of 12%, Swindon up 11% and Southend on Sea also up 11%, saw the biggest rises in rents for one bed flats, albeit from lower average rents than some of the other areas to see big year on year increases. The index also shows that rents for three bed properties are seeing the biggest overall rental rises, up 4.8% year on year to £1,489 in September. Across all properties, UK rents rose by 3.7% in the last year to an average £1,288. This was the first increase in annual growth since February, when the average monthly rented price was £1,277. ‘The upward trend in UK rents can simply be explained with one word, jobs. The UK’s job market is going from strength to strength and the rental market is staying hot on its heels,’ said John Goodall, chief executive officer of Landbay. ‘The sharp seasonal jump in rental growth for one beds reflects a buoyant graduate job market as people move to their first job. Flexibility and freedom is the order of the day for first jobbers, and one bedroom flats offer the perfect springboard to take the plunge into full-time working life. One bed flats are also popular for couples and young professionals who don’t want to flat share,’ he explained. ‘Higher housing costs can be a nightmare for tenants when other costs are rising and their wages are stagnating. Fortunately these rent increases come at a time of growing wages and falling costs, according to the latest inflation figures, so while they may not be welcome they don’t leave the same dent in consumers’ pockets,’ he pointed out. ‘For potential investors, these rental figures show how resilient residential property is as an asset class, even when you have unusual economic forces combining like the current mix of low inflation, low interest rate, and high wages,’ he added. Across all property sizes, the top rental risers outside of London were in the southeast, with all but two of the top 10 rental risers of Swindon and Edinburgh, clustered around London. By contrast only one of the top 10 rental fallers, Buckinghamshire, was located in the southeast. According to Joe Macklin, director of index compilers MIAC, there is likely to be a small decline in data volume in the run up to… Continue reading
UK residential rent growth slows to match pace of house price growth
Rent price rises in the UK have slowed to match the pace of house price growth in the country after nine months of sustained faster growth, the latest index figures show. It means that rent prices are now 8.5% higher than a year ago for the three months to September 2015 after six months of annual rises over 10%, according to the data from HomeLet. The average rent in the UK for new tenancies in the period was £995 per month but in Greater London it was £1,555 per month although rents dropped here on a month on month basis for the first time since February 2015. The index report suggests that deflation across the economy, and rising real incomes, mean the slowdown in rents could be temporary. A breakdown of the figures shows that nine out of 12 UK regions are still seeing rent prices rise on an annual basis, with the largest increases seen in Scotland at 8.4%, the East Midlands at 7.7% and Greater London at 6.6%. The figures also show three regions in negative annual price movement, with prices in the North West 4.6% lower than a year ago, 2.2% lower in East Anglia and 1.4% lower in Northern Ireland. Comparing September figures to the previous month, the index reveals that only three regions have seen rent prices rise since August. In the three months to September 2015 only Scotland, the East Midlands and West Midlands have seen prices rise by 1.2%, 1.4% and 1.4% respectively. Every other region of the UK has seen rent prices fall modestly in the three months to September 2015, with the largest price reductions seen in the South West, the North East and North West with a fall of 2.4%, 2.3% and 2.2% respectively. ‘The UK economy has dipped into negative inflation which is a boost to consumers' spending power and, ultimately, their real income. Affordability is an important factor in determining rents,’ said Martin Totty, chief executive of Barbon Insurance Group, owners of HomeLet. ‘Depending on what happens with inflation and real incomes over the coming months, could have a bearing on future rental price trends especially where, in certain areas of the country, the supply of rental properties is not keeping pace with demand from those wishing to be private sector renters,’ he added. Continue reading
