Prime property prices soar 6% in a month as pound plummets- Evening Standard

Posted on March 18th, 2013 by admin

– Wealthy foreign buyers given boost as pound slumps

– Kensington and Chelsea sees 6.2 per cent monthly rise in asking prices

– Asking prices up in London by average of 1.9pc since Feb

The sudden slump in the value of the pound has given the central London property market a dramatic boost at the start of the spring “buying season”, according to a report out today.

Sterling has fallen by about seven per cent since the start of the year, making London property far more affordable to wealthy foreign buyers armed with dollars, euros or Chinese yuan.

Sellers are in the strongest position in the most desirable areas of central London, with Kensington & Chelsea seeing a 6.2 per cent monthly rise in asking prices to £2.32 million, up 15.8 per cent on the same time last year, according to property website Rightmove.

Westminster properties came to the market in March priced at an average of £1.58 million, up 5.8 per cent in a month or 14 per cent in a year.

The biggest annual rise was 16.8 per cent in Hammersmith and Fulham, where average asking prices breached £1 million for the first time.

Across London, average asking prices are 1.9 per cent higher than in February, at £496,298, and nine per cent higher than last year.

Although there is no guarantee that asking prices will be achieved, the sharp upward trend suggests a strong “sellers’ market”, with vendors and agents confident of finding buyers at higher prices.

The upward pressure on prices has been intensified by a shortage of homes on the market at the start of the peak buying season.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “London’s housing market continues to forge ahead, with seller pricing power still holding up in spite of the nine per cent jump seen in the last 12 months.

“Overseas buyers transferring their dollars or euros into sterling have found their buying power boosted since the beginning of the year. Many new-build developers have been mining this rich seam of overseas cash very successfully.

“While it is all a question of timing, some of these buyers may feel they currently have a window of opportunity that may push out some local buyers looking for a new home this spring.”

However, the steep rises will dismay would-be first-time buyers who have been holding out for a slump in the property market to give them a better chance of scrambling on to the property ladder.

The only boroughs where asking prices have slipped in the past month are Brent, Haringey, Tower Hamlets, Bromley, Sutton, Enfield, Croydon, Bexley and Barking and Dagenham.

Tenants pay more than owners- City AM

Posted on March 13th, 2013 by admin

Tenants pay significantly more by renting than owners do servicing their mortgages, according to figures out yesterday.

Renting costs 14 per cent more on average, Zoopla.co.uk said yesterday, and it is cheaper to service a mortgage than to rent in 86 per cent of UK cities.

The gap is narrowest in London, Zoopla said, where renting is only two per cent cheaper.

Mayor launches London’s first liquid postcode- City AM

Posted on March 13th, 2013 by admin

LONDON mayor Boris Johnson revealed plans yesterday to create the UK’s largest “floating village”, as part of his ongoing drive to transform London’s Royal Docks.

His plans will see 15 acres of water at the Royal Victoria Dock site in east London converted into a new community “twice the size of Soho” with homes, hotels, restaurants and transport links to Canary Wharf, including Crossrail.
Johnson used his keynote speech at Mipim, the property’s industry annual conference in Cannes, to launch a competition for developers to work on what he called “London’s answer to Venice”.

“This site is unique. It has the potential to become one of the most sought after addresses in the capital while breathing new life back into London’s waterways. But it’s not alone.
“Right across London there are incredible investment opportunities that I’m determined to bring to market creating more homes and jobs for Londoners,” he added.

The formal procurement process will begin this summer and the Greater London Authority hope the scheme will get underway within Johnson’s remaining three and a half year tenure as mayor.
The site sits directly under the Thames cable car, the Emirates Airline, which Johnson – who masterminded the scheme – insisted yesterday “will cover both its capital and revenue costs by 2019”.

‘Worthless’ plot yields a pot of gold for Galliard as twisting tower entices

Posted on March 3rd, 2013 by admin

Galliard Homes sold 80 unbuilt Docklands flats in Singapore last weekend at an average price of £500,000 each.

Galliard boss Stephen Conway says he has never sold so many off-plan in one day —at least, not since 1994, when buyers queued outside his development within the old GLA offices opposite Parliament.

Singaporeans slapped down 20% deposits on apartments in the 46-storey “twisting tower” at Baltimore Wharf, pictured. Almost £7 million was raised. Sales prices in Singapore averaged £764 per square foot says Conway. The buyers may be unaware – but they are helping fund construction.

When selling agent Jones Lang LaSalle sets up a stall in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, the financial target of pre-selling 150 of the flats may be reached. That will trigger lending guarantees. Loans will pay half the £100 million building costs. The target sales price for all 330 flats is £175 million.

The 150-metre tower designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill will soar from ground which once held a large tin shed called the London Arena. Conway and Paul White paid £30 million for the site six weeks ago. Subtract that and £100 million building costs from £175 million and the result should be a profit of £45 million from land where London Dockland Development set up in the early Eighties. Then the desolate plot was worthless.

Regents Quarter

Posted on February 24th, 2013 by admin

Please see attached booklet. Regents Quarter

If you are interested in the development please contact the Property Inside London team: angie@propertyinsidelondon.com

The Forge- Canary Wharf

Posted on February 23rd, 2013 by admin

Please see the attached marketing booklet.The Forge Brochure_lo

If you are interested in the development, please contact the Property Inside London team: angie@propertyinsidelondon.com

Jones Lang LaSalle research note on London residential property

Posted on February 23rd, 2013 by admin

2012-11-JLL-Residential-Eye2

Knight Frank research report on London residential property

Posted on February 23rd, 2013 by admin

KF Spring 2013

Households’ optimism on property prices hits highest level since June 2010

Posted on February 18th, 2013 by admin

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said:

“House price optimism has perked up to its highest level in over two and a half years in February, providing encouraging evidence that the property market has seen a strong start to the year. The improvement in sentiment about current and future house prices provides firm evidence that the Funding for Lending Scheme is already having a noticeable beneficial impact on the market, via the improved availability of mortgages and the simple fact that people perceive that the new initiative will drive a recovery of the housing market.

“With rising housing market sentiment adding to the news from the PMI surveys of a return to growth of business activity in January, the picture for the UK economy has brightened considerably since late last year.”

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