Posts with tag: London

Wimbledon’s Property Market Aced by the Competition

Published On: July 4, 2017 at 8:11 am

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With Wimbledon kicking off yesterday, online estate agent eMoov.co.uk has compared the property performance of each of the four tennis Grand Slam locations over the past year – and Wimbledon’s property market has been aced by the competition…

The agent analysed the latest house price data in all four neighbourhoods that host the world-class tennis events – London’s Wimbledon, Paris’ 16ème arrondissement, Melbourne’s Fitzroy, and New York City’s Queens – to see who is the top for property price growth.

The average house price across all four neighbourhoods to host a Grand Slam is £987,743 – up by 5.32% on last year.

Wimbledon’s property market

Wimbledon's Property Market Aced by the Competition

Wimbledon’s Property Market Aced by the Competition

The average property value in Wimbledon is on the higher end of the scale compared to the overall borough of Merton (£604,935) and London as a whole (£607,112), at £753,354.

Additionally, the prices in Wimbledon’s prestigious neighbourhood of Wimbledon Village further outshine those across the rest of the area, with price tags averaging £1,526,752.

However, Wimbledon’s property market is the only one of the four Grand Slam venues to have recorded a drop in house prices since Andy Murray won last year. Values in Wimbledon Village fell by 2.01% over the past 12 months, while Wimbledon as a whole declined by 2.43%, ranking it in fourth place overall.

Values in Fitzroy 

Melbourne’s Fitzroy is a few minutes’ drive from Melbourne Park, where the Grand Slam series sees the first serve of the year in January.

Fitzroy enjoyed a 3.50% (£27,903) house price hike over the past year, from an average of £798,010 to £825,913, placing the Australian city in third place for property value growth.

Paris house prices 

Heading to Paris’ 16ème arrondissement, home to the Stade Roland Garros, the average property is valued at £10,885 per square metre – up by 4.80% from £10,386 in 2016.

The average home is around 181m2, but can range from 30m2 to 500m2. An average property of this size could set you back £1,970,185 today.

Queens’ property values 

The final tournament of the season is played in New York City’s Queens neighbourhood, where homes are currently valued at an average of £401,482 – up by a whopping 15.40% on 2016’s £347,903. This is the largest growth of all four venues.

Furthermore, house prices in Queens are expected to surge by another 5.60% to an average of £420,647 over the coming year.

Queens is the only area of the four locations to have a larger growth than the average, despite a much lower average price, making it the most affordable of all the Grand Slam neighbourhoods and crowning it as the champion in the property stakes.

Russell Quirk, the Founder and CEO of eMoov, comments on the results: “Hosting a major sporting event of any kind can have a positive impact on the property landscape hosting these competitions, as well as the additional economic benefit enjoyed for the duration of the event.

“The London market has slowed in price growth pace over the last year due to uncertain political and economic influences, and so it is no surprise that the more prestigious end of Merton has seen prices fall.

“This research would suggest that London’s high-end market is no longer the cream of the international crop where property is concerned, however, while prices may remain flat for the remainder of the year, we should see stability return for Wimbledon in 2018.”

London’s Greenest Boroughs for Properties Costing Under £500,000

Published On: June 30, 2017 at 8:13 am

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Although it may appear that summer has come and gone already, sun seekers will always be looking to catch the rays whenever possible. For that reason, gardens and public green space are essential to some house hunters. Landlords looking to target this market should check out London’s greenest boroughs for properties costing less than £500,000…

In a major city like London, properties near outdoor space, not to mention with a private garden, can come at a premium price. But having these on offer can really make your property stand out in a competitive market.

That’s why online estate agent eMoov.co.uk has found London’s greenest boroughs where the average house price is under £500,000.

Using data on the land use of each London borough, eMoov looked at the locations across the capital that are cheapest for investors, but boast gardens and outdoor space.

The London Datastore provides data on the land use of every borough. This includes the percentage of the borough covered by domestic buildings, domestic gardens, non-domestic buildings, roads, railways, pathways, green space, water, and other areas of land use or unclassified land. For this research, the figures for domestic gardens and green space were used.

eMoov used the latest Land Registry house price figures for average property values in each borough.

Gardens

London's Greenest Boroughs for Properties Costing Under £500,000

London’s Greenest Boroughs for Properties Costing Under £500,000

A private garden in London is a very sought-after feature, especially if you’re marketing your property during summer.

Topping the list with the highest percentage of land use allocated to domestic gardens is Harrow, with 34.7%. The northwest London borough not only has the largest percentage of boroughs with homes costing less than £500,000, but also the highest across the whole of the capital. Although this abundance of garden space comes at the upper end of the £500,000 bracket, at £473,019, it still offers a typical house price below the London average.

Sutton, where garden space stands at 34.5%, closely follows Harrow. This is the second highest of the capital as a whole, but with a more appealing average house price of £371,383.

Staying in southwest London, the borough of Croydon has 32.8% of land use allocated to domestic gardens – the third highest in the capital – with an average property value of £367,160.

Green space

Unfortunately, not every London home comes with a garden, so being near outdoor public spaces is the next best option for many Londoners wanting to get out of the house and escape the city life.

When it comes to the largest percentage of land use where green space is concerned, Havering takes the lead, with 59.4% and an affordable average house price of £362,983.

Heading south of the river, Bromley offers 57.8% of green space, but the average property value jumps to £433,008. Both Havering and Bromley are also the boroughs with the largest areas of public outdoor land use across the whole of London.

Although Richmond upon Thames has the third largest amount of green space in the capital, at 50.8%, its average house price of £675,435 means it doesn’t quite make the cut.

Instead, it’s west London’s Hillingdon, with the fourth largest percentage of green space, at 49.2%, and with a more affordable average house price of £415,716.

Overall

The list remains similar when it comes to combining both the amount of domestic garden area and green space in a borough, with Bromley and Havering swapping places, at 81.1% and 78.8% respectively.

Again, Richmond is home to the third largest percentage of both garden and outdoor space, but Croydon takes third place, with 69.9% of combined land use and an average property value of just £367,160.

Alternatively, if price is the deciding factor for you, the capital’s two most affordable boroughs are still an attractive proposition for outdoor living.

Both Bexley and Barking and Dagenham have an average house price below £335,000, and both sit mid-table for overall green space, at 56.8% and 56.3% respectively.

The average property in Barking and Dagenham goes for £277,508, with 22.8% garden area and 33.6% green space, while Bexley’s average house price is £334,053, with 25.1% of the borough covered by domestic gardens and 31.7% by green space.

The Founder and CEO of eMoov, Russell Quirk, comments: “Having accessibility to outdoor areas in your community can be equally as important as other amenities, such as good schools, transport links and supermarkets. Often these amenities will come at a cost, particularly in central London, which is helping drive the trend of London homebuyers moving further outward to be able to have more space, outdoor living and the important conveniences that make for a better quality of life.

“It is often those second and third rung buyers who will place a larger importance on a garden or nearby outdoor space, as they invest in a home for a growing family or to support a particular lifestyle. This research shows that although green space can be costly, there are many boroughs where it comes in abundance, without having to pay above the odds.”

Landlords, head to London’s greenest boroughs to offer your tenants plenty of green space at an affordable price for you.

60 High-Rise Buildings Fail Safety Tests Following Grenfell Tower Blaze

Published On: June 26, 2017 at 9:45 am

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60 high-rise buildings in 25 local authorities have failed fire safety tests conducted in the wake of the Grenfell Tower blaze earlier this month, the Government has reported.

This figure amounts to a 100% failure rate, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

The number has risen from 34 tower blocks in 17 local authorities, with hundreds more still yet to be tested.

The results of the safety tests arrive as Theresa May is due to chair a meeting of the Grenfell Tower recovery taskforce later, which includes the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Downing Street sources say that the Prime Minister is likely to hear how many of the country’s high-rise buildings are swathed in potentially flammable materials.

At least 79 people are believed to have died in the Grenfell Tower blaze in North Kensington.

60 High-Rise Buildings Fail Safety Tests Following Grenfell Tower Blaze

60 High-Rise Buildings Fail Safety Tests Following Grenfell Tower Blaze

The building’s cladding is widely blamed for how quickly the fire spread up its 24 storeys.

The new Housing Minister, Alok Sharma, refused to reveal whether the cladding used on the block was illegal.

He did, however, say: “The rules in terms of this particular type of cladding are clear. Aluminium composite material, which has a core of polyethylene, should not be put on buildings which are 18 metres high. That is absolutely clear.

“But obviously as a result of this terrible tragedy, we are going to have to learn the lessons. If that means changes to regulations as a result of what comes out of the inquiry and the work that the police and the fire service are doing – then we will make those.”

He insisted: “This shouldn’t have happened in the first place in our country, in the 21st century, and we need to make sure this never ever happens again.”

The manufacturer of the insulation used to clad Grenfell Tower has said it will stop using the product on high-rise buildings.

Officials are now carrying out inspections of tower blocks across the country.

14 areas where buildings have failed the test have been identified, with 11 yet to be named.

Five buildings failed the tests in Sunderland, four in Manchester, three in Plymouth, three in Stockton-on-Tees, two in Portsmouth, and one each in Doncaster and Norwich.

In London, five buildings have been deemed unsafe in Camden, three in Barnet, two in Wandsworth, and one each in Islington, Lambeth, Brent and Hounslow.

In a statement, the DCLG said: “All landlords and fire and rescue services for these local authorities have been alerted to the results, and we are in touch with all of them to support and monitor follow-up action.”

On Friday, authorities ordered the evacuation of four tower blocks in the Chalcots Estate in north London out of safety concerns – a move backed by Sadiq Khan.

But some 200 residents from 120 homes are still refusing to leave, according to the Leader of Camden Council, Georgia Gould. Tensions are running high, with some residents saying they were intimidated by security guards.

Sharma responded: “I understand people living in tower blocks around the country will be extremely concerned, and that is why we have been clear that we have put in place a regime of getting cladding that may not be compliant tested as quickly as possible.

“As soon as we identify a piece of cladding on a building that is non-compliant, the local authority is informed immediately, the fire authority is informed, and the fire service then goes in and sees whether there can be mitigation measures put in place so that people don’t have to leave the building whilst the cladding is taken down.

“In the case of Camden, what happened was, apart from the cladding, there were other fire safety checks which failed, and that is why people had to be evacuated.”

London has the 9th Least Affordable Rental Market Among the World’s Best Cities

Published On: June 26, 2017 at 8:17 am

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Being a tenant is becoming increasingly common, but in which cities of the world are renters’ needs most catered for? Well it turns out that it’s not London, which has the ninth least affordable rental market among the world’s top cities of opportunity…

A great city must present a good deal of opportunities to its residents, which means that it shouldn’t hurt to live there.

Apartment search platform RENTCafé has already analysed rent prices in the top global financial centres, but it is now looking at the world in a wider angle – not just restricted to cities with outstanding activity in the financial sector. It’s also bringing the affordability of local rents into the equation.

In its latest Cities of Opportunity report, global professional services firm PwC shortlisted the world’s best cities to work and live in. Its top-30 ranking is the result of an in-depth analysis of the most prosperous global business, finance and culture capitals, which looks at ten different indicators – including, but not limited to: infrastructure, intellectual capital, sustainability and ease of doing business. All of these factors are essential for a great environment.

With this list in its hands, RENTCafé found out how much money people earn in these cities and whether these salaries are high enough to afford a rental property.

Firstly, let’s look at PwC’s best Cities of Opportunity:

  1. London, Great Britain
  2. Singapore, Singapore
  3. Toronto, Canada
  4. Paris, France
  5. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  6. Manhattan (New York City), USA
  7. Stockholm, Sweden
  8. San Francisco, USA
  9. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  10. Sydney, Australia
  11. Seoul, South Korea
  12. Berlin, Germany
  13. Chicago, USA
  14. Los Angeles, USA
  15. Tokyo, Japan
  16. Madrid, Spain
  17. Dubai, UAE
  18. Milan, Italy
  19. Beijing, China
  20. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  21. Shanghai, China
  22. Moscow, Russia
  23. Mexico City, Mexico
  24. Johannesburg, South Africa
  25. São Paulo, Brazil
  26. Bogotá, Colombia
  27. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  28. Jakarta, Indonesia
  29. Mumbai, India
  30. Lagos, Nigeria

RENTCafé then checked out the average rents in these markets, as well as their median incomes, and calculated the rent-to-income ratios.

Traditionally, housing costs exceeding 30% of a household’s income are viewed as a red flag, so this became RENTCafé’s first threshold. Thus, it considered the cities where the average rent was 30% or less of the local median household income to be burden-free.

It then divided the remainder of the list into two – moderately (31-50% rent-to-income) and severely (51%+) rent-burdened cities.

Here’s how the PwC list swapped around when these rent-to-income ratios were applied:

London has the 9th Least Affordable Rental Market Among the World's Best Cities

London has the 9th Least Affordable Rental Market Among the World’s Best Cities

The twist on the data puts these cities into a completely different perspective.

Granted, London sliding back 21 places when ranked by rental affordability was unsurprising, but what’s more shocking is that seven of the top ten most affordable Cities of Opportunity came straight from the lower third of the initial ranking.

Kuala Lumpur, Moscow and Johannesburg were named the most affordable Cities of Opportunity.

The trio launched from 20th, 22nd and 24th places in the original ranking, respectively. Still, the two South American markets of the 4th and 5th places – Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro – have moved the farthest from their original positions – 22 places, up from 26th and 27th respectively.

RENTCafé believes that great cities must obviously come with price tags to match – but paying the rent in these Cities of Opportunity isn’t always so painful…

In 13 of these cities, the rent-to-income ratio is comfortably below the 30% threshold. And although Tokyo, Hong Kong and Madrid technically fall into the moderately rent-burdened category, people in these cities still spend less than a third of their income to pay the rent. If you look at it this way, renting a property in more than half of the world’s Cities of Opportunity shouldn’t be too difficult.

Then again, these are Cities of Opportunity, and what would be the point of these opportunities if only a lucky few could afford to utilise them?

Which brings us to the lower end of the list…

Mexico City, Manhattan and Lagos are the least tenant-friendly Cities of Opportunity in 2017.

Although opportunities are plentiful in these cities, no amount of amenities can overlook the rent burden issue. Renters in Mexico City, Manhattan and Lagos face severe rent burdens, meaning that rent takes up more than half of a household’s income each month (60%, 59% and 57% respectively).

In other words, in an average family with two earners, one of them works only to pay the rent – and even that’s not enough. Tenants in Los Angeles also cash out 47% of their income each month on rent, and the situation isn’t much better in Paris (46%) or Singapore (44%).

Access to the great opportunities these cities offer clearly requires some form of compromise – rental affordability isn’t always their best charms. However, the good news is that there are plenty of other great cities around the world where renting a property isn’t an issue; they’re just not the best ones.

London House Price Growth Drops from 13% to 3% in a Year

Published On: June 23, 2017 at 9:54 am

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The rate of London house price growth has dropped from 13% to 3% in the past 12 months, according to the May 2017 UK Cities House Price Index from Hometrack.

Overall city house price growth for the UK is slower than a year ago, but average values rose by 3.5% in the last three months.

Annual UK city house price growth stood at an average of 5.1% in May – down from 8.8% in May 2016. Half of cities in the UK have recorded faster growth than a year ago.

Cities in the South East of England have experienced the greatest slowdown over the past year – London from 13% to 3% and Cambridge from 13% to just 2%.

London House Price Growth Drops from 13% to 3% in a Year

London House Price Growth Drops from 13% to 3% in a Year

While the annual rate of growth is at 5.1%, the index has recorded an acceleration in growth over the past three months, with average prices across the 20-city index up by 3.5%. This is the highest quarterly rate of growth for three years, since June 2014.

All cities, with the exception of Oxford and Aberdeen, have registered higher prices in the last three months. Large regional cities recorded the highest price rises over the past quarter – Birmingham (3.8%), Nottingham (3.8%), Newcastle (3.5%) and Manchester (3.3%).

House prices in these and other cities continue to rise off a low base, supported by a lack of housing for sale and low mortgage rates.

Hometrack believes that there is the potential for material upside in house prices outside the south of England. Price increases since 2009 range from 85% in London to 12% in Glasgow.

Regional cities are unlikely to see London levels of growth, the firm claims, but it expects the gap in growth from 2009 to close. Cities with growing economics creating jobs have the greatest upside, the index reports.

Birmingham (7.7%) and Manchester (6.8%) are examples of cities with sustained, above average price growth. A negative economic impact from the Brexit negotiations or an upward shift in mortgage rates remain the key risks.

In contrast, the London property market has recorded 90% growth since 2009. Affordability and uncertainty are affecting demand, says Hometrack. London has seen the lowest annual growth (3.3%) for five years, however, the rapid deceleration in price inflation is showing signs of bottoming out.

On current trends, the firm does not expect to see the London city index slip into negative year-on-year growth during 2017. It predicts annual growth to end the year at 2-3%. The challenge for businesses operating in London is lower turnover, it believes, which is the market response to weaker demand.

Some sub-markets within the capital, which covers 46 local authority areas, are registering price falls.

House price growth is between 4-6% in the lowest value areas – down from 15-18% a year ago. Increases are lowest in the highest value markets, where growth has been in single digits for the past year. Sub-markets with prices between £600,000-£800,000 are where small annual price falls are currently concentrated – for example, Islington and Hammersmith.

The Founder and CEO of online estate agent eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, comments on the index: “Demand for city living seems alive and well, despite the farcical political events of late. Other than Oxford, a city paying the price for its previous accolade of UK’s most expensive, and Aberdeen, which has suffered due to a declining economy, house price growth across the UK’s major cities seems to have remained stable.

“We are starting to see a real shift away from London in terms of the capital leading the rate of price growth in the UK, and there seems to be a growing transfer of power to the Midlands and the north. The markets in London and the South East, in particular, were teetering on an election knife edge, but the less than satisfactory result, coupled with signs that the London property slowdown is soon to bottom out, means that prices in the regions are likely to stay flat for the remainder of the year now.”

Some Grenfell Tower Victims May Never be Identified due to Subletting

Published On: June 21, 2017 at 8:12 am

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It’s been one week since the devastating Grenfell Tower fire shook North Kensington. But some victims of the blaze may never be identified due to subletting, believes a lawyer.

Some victims of last week’s fire were living in flats that were sublet without permission by the original tenants, according to the local North Kensington Law Centre.

At the time of writing, Scotland Yard has confirmed that the death toll stands at 79.

Some of those that survived the blaze were reluctant to seek help from the authorities, as they feared being detained over their unresolved immigration status, says Victoria Vasey, the Director of North Kensington Law Centre.

A further problem for survivors, she explains, is that those sent by the Kensington and Chelsea authority to hotels for emergency accommodation last week were all informed that they would have to leave by Tuesday (yesterday).

“They were told last Friday and spent all weekend stressing because there was no one available to answer questions,” Vasey states. “It affected scores of people, but they have now been reassured and allowed to stay where they are.”

Vasey also adds that the problem of identifying victims was being complicated by the fact that “a lot of people were irregular in their tenancies and some were subletting. Some of them were illegal sub-tenancies”.

Those who died in the fire may not be those recorded as the official tenants of the flats.

Vasey welcomes the large number of lawyers who have volunteered to help provide free legal advice.

Daily legal clinics have been set up to advise displaced tenants on housing problems.

“Many people were concerned about their immigration status,” Vasey reports. “Some were in the middle of applications [to be naturalised] and have lost all their papers. We are offering support to them.”

She continues: “Some of the people feel they can’t seek help because they are terrified they will be carted off to immigration detention. It’s a big problem. We are trying to get the word out to get them to come and see us. We can give them advice on the basis of client/lawyer confidentiality.”

While survivors may, at a later stage, consider bringing compensation claims or seek other ways to obtain justice, Vasey claims that families are at the moment focused on more immediate needs.

One issue that may become more important once the inquiry is launched is whether the cladding added to the exterior of Grenfell Tower was primarily for insulation purposes, or because it made the building more attractive. There have been allegations that the tower had been renovated to attract more upmarket tenants.

Vasey wrote to the Home Office on Friday, calling on officials to provide emergency help for those who have lost all of their documents.

“There has been nothing to suggest there will be a waiver of the fees,” she says. “Which would be important given the circumstances they are left in.”