A £180m regeneration scheme has been outlined for Glasgow to include a number of residential apartments.
Using Property Development Finance, property developers Dandara are set to build more than 850 apartments at the Clyde waterfront in Glasgow if the scheme is approved by Glasgow City Council. It will also include office, retail and leisure space, totalling 18,500sq m.
Peter Lackey, Dandara’s managing director, said: “This new venture will provide quality office, retail and residential property to the marketplace.”
Castlefield Manchester set to benefit from residential development
Crosby Lend Lease has acquired a city centre site in Castlefield, Manchester, to build residential units. Crosby is not disclosing how much the site was purchased for.
Planning permission has already been secured to build two six-storey blocks and a 12-storey tower at Potato Wharf. The development will comprise of 213 with one and two bedroom apartments, with prices expected to start from approximately £130,000.
Peter Vella, sales and marketing director for Crosby Lend Lease North West, said: “We’re confident that Potato Wharf will offer innovative city centre living, combined with improved local facilities.”
In addition, Crosby Lend Lease is in the process of purchasing an additional site adjacent to the current building proposal. The two and a half acre plot is currently being used as a cement works which, subject to planning permission, will also be used for residential accommodation.
RICS’ survey presents mixed messages
According to Capital Economics, the latest Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ housing market survey presents mixed messages. Capital Economics says the housing market had clearly softened since the final quarter of 2006, but this rate has now slowed down.
For the fourth consecutive month, first-time buyer enquiries fell to -19% in February 2007, but it did increase in March to -8%. Despite the fact that the rate at which enquiries are falling slowed, the survey still points to a further fall in mortgage approvals.
In addition, price pressures have eased in all regions since interest rates began to rise in August 2006, but the pace still remains the fastest in London and the South East. By contrast, prices have fallen in each of the past three months in the East Midlands.
Ed Stansfield, property economist for Capital Economics, said: “The survey suggests that February’s weakness may have been exaggerated by the surprise timing of the January rate rise. With a further rise in borrowing costs still likely in May, however and financial markets beginning to consider the possibility that interest rates might rise to 5.75% in due course, buyer confidence should ease further in the months ahead and the housing market should continue to slow.”
The rate of inflation is at its highest since 1997, according to ONS
The Office for National Statistics has said that consumer prices leapt 0.5% in March, lifting the annual rate of inflation to 3.1%, which is the highest since the series began in 1997.
This is higher than the 0.3% that analysts had forecast. The surge may reinforce expectations of higher borrowing costs this year.
Retail price inflation has also risen to 4.8%, which is at its highest since July 1991. The Bank of England has raised borrowing costs three times since August 2006. It now stands at 5.25%, but it is widely expected that it will increase to 5.5% next month.
HIPs is not as radical as expected, says Hamptons International
Residential agent, Hamptons International, welcomes the Home Information Packs’ regulations, despite believing that no changes have been made to it following the earlier consultation paper.
The company acknowledges HIPs as a much needed development in helping to clarify the implementation of the packs for both agents and consumers.
Emma Davies, operations director for Hamptons International, said: “The revisions that have taken place as part of the HIPs’ regulations have not been as radical as many expected. Moving forward, it is vital that clear communication continues to take place to ensure market implementation of HIPs is as successful as it can be.”
Davies also believes that there needs to be further clarification on whether there are enough qualified Energy Performance Assessors to service market demand. “This is something that needs to be addressed to ensure the roll-out of HIPS is as effective as possible”, said Davies.
Chelsea Barracks sold for £600m
A consortium called Project Blue has won the bidding war for the 13-acre Chelsea Barracks site for £600m.
The main investors of the consortium include Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and London developer Christian Candy’s property company CPC. The final shortlist included Westbrook with Native Land, Ballymore, Quinlan, Hines and Quintain.
Project Blue based its bid on a development by Rogers Stirk Harbours and Partners, who has been appointed architect. The scheme will comprise of more than 1,500 homes as well as retail, office space and community facilities.
The West London site was the former Ministry of Defence barracks and was originally put up for sale by the MoD in October 2006.
House prices in the London Marathon’s boroughs
In anticipation of Sunday’s London Marathon, Nationwide Building Society has looked at house prices in the main five boroughs of which the race passes through.
The race starts at Greenwich, where the price of a typical house now stands at £268,194. This is £48,000 more expensive than this time last year, and is equivalent of a rise of more than £100 a day. House prices in Greenwich have risen by 279% over the last ten years.
The next stop is Lewisham where the average house is priced at £263,796. Though the cheapest of the five boroughs, it has one of the strongest rates of growth. House prices have increased by 283% in the last ten years, which may be due to a major regeneration programme which took place in 1999.
Further along the route is Southwark. Typically a house costs around £336,315, which is an increase of £57,326 compared to the same time last year, and equivalent to a rise of £157 per day. The borough has also had a strong decade of growth, at 283%.
Once across the river, house prices continue to rise. On average, a house in Tower Hamlets tops £352,127, but it has seen the slowest house price growth over the last ten years at 262%. In the last year, house prices have increased by £56,242, the equivalent to a £146 per day.
Westminster is in the home straight, and it is the most expensive borough of the five. An average house costs £563,293. In the last year it has risen by £112,000, the equivalent of £307 a day. Despite this, house price growth over the last ten year period is the second lowest at 266%.
Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “The outlook for the housing market still looks rosy given the economic conditions it faces. A lack of housing supply is also a factor that will support house price growth. However, London is not immune from rising interest rates and deteriorating affordability. We would expect the rate of house price inflation in London to cool from the current level of 14.3%, but to remain at a robust level, by the end of 2007.”
Buy-to-let sector dominated by long term, mature investors
The buy-to-let sector is dominated by long term, mature investors says the Association of Residential Letting Agents’ quarterly Review and Index for Residential Investment.
Buy-to-let investors borrow an average of 73% of the purchase price for their property investments, while a sizeable minority, one in eight, borrow less than half. Over 40% of these investors buy properties that are over 50 years old and less than a fifth buy new build. Nearly two thirds of residential landlords expect to hold on to their property investments for more than ten years. Less than 2% see buy-to-let as a short term speculation in property by holding their investments for under two years.
Even if house prices were to fall, 86% of all investment landlords would not sell, 12% are unsure and 2% would sell.
Investment landlords report that tenants stay in their properties for an average of 18 months, and 40% stay for longer than this period. A fifth of landlords reported tenants staying for more than two years and one third reported stays of less than a year.
“Once again, our quarterly survey shows that the market for residential investment property is dominated by long term, mature buyers whose tenants are also happy to stay for the long term. This augers well for the private rented sector and this is what buy-to-let is all about”, said Adrian Turner, ARLA’s chief excecutive.
Inflation at a record-high of 3.1%
Inflation is at a record high of 3.1% since comparable records began ten years ago, according to Spicerhaart Financial Services.
SFS’s monthly survey shows 91% of borrowers opted for fixed rate in mortgages in March, which is a slight increase on the previous month’s 90%.
It also shows that the percentage of high loan-to-value loans increased in March rising to 15% from 13% in February.
“Borrowers are looking for security against further interest rate rises and are opting for fixed rate mortgages, despite lenders recently hiking rates on their fixed deals. With the announcement that inflation has crept above 3% in April, it is almost certain that there will be a further base rate rise in the next couple of months. As a result we expect there to be a surge of borrowers looking to switch their mortgages to a fixed deal in the forthcoming few weeks during the run up to the next Bank of England announcement on base rates”, says Steve Cox, operations director of Spicerhaart Financial Services.
Celebration of Liverpool’s tallest building
Standing at 125 metres above the high street and climbing up to 40 storeys, West Tower in Liverpool will be Liverpool’s tallest building when it is built at the start of 2008.
The building was designed by architect Aedes, and is being constructed by Carillion, which claims that it will host Britain’s highest bar and restaurant situated on the 34 th floor. The building will also accommodate 120 two-bedroom apartments and seven penthouse apartments.
Bristol’s new £18m mixed use scheme
Development and property group Carlyle Skelton, has acquired a two-acre site in the centre of Bristol from Westcott Homes, part of Persimmon, for £18m.
Currently the site has outlined planning consent for 414,000sq ft of mixed use space in predominantly residential buildings of up to seven story’s high.
Duncan Moss, chairman of Carlyle Skelton, said: “We believe there may be more opportunities to review the current consent and create a scheme which is more relevant to the city’s future needs.”
