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Morning Briefing: house prices ‘fall by a quarter in prime locations’
An estate agent says house prices have fallen 25% in a year in some areas, and The Mirror has a report about a Grenfell-style cladding cover up
In the news
The Times is reporting that house prices in some of Britain’s most expensive areas have fallen 25% over the past year, in the face of Brexit uncertainty and higher taxes.
The paywalled piece, citing figures from estate agency Your Move, says prices in London’s ten most expensive boroughs are down by 9%.
The figures are likely to cause concern that the slowdown could spread into the rest of the housing market, particularly if the UK has a no-deal Brexit.
In an IH50 piece today, Chan Kataria, chief executive of EMH Group, suggests ways housing associations should prepare for a falling market, suggesting they should reduce reliance on Section 106 planning contributions and instead move to land-led development. “This is the most effective mitigation against a declining market as we have greater control over the development process,” he writes.
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The Mirror is reporting a “cover-up” over Grenfell-style cladding on a tower block in Manchester. The same story has also been covered by the Daily Mail here.
The Guardian has the latest on Brent Council paying a rogue landlord £500,000 in housing benefit. The London local authority is calling on the government to legislate to prevent councils making similar payments in the future.
Theresa May has warned a second referendum would threaten the UK’s social cohesion, The Guardian reports. Last week, Ali Akbor, chief executive of Leeds-based BME association Unity Homes & Enterprise, made similar warnings in a piece for Inside Housing.
Could the suspension of a multibillion pound nuclear power project in Anglesey lead to plans for 8,000 new homes in North Wales being shelved? Gwynedd and Anglesey councils are facing calls to halt planned housing development, the North Wales Chronicle reports.
Also in Wales, the South Wales Argus has a piece about delays to a planned Monmouthshire Council housing company.
Elsewhere, Construction Enquirer has an article about the latest project by a joint venture involving Sanctuary and Galliford Try. The venture is planning 375 homes in Leamington Spa.
Everybody likes a bit of data visualisation, and the BBC has found a way of illustrating the state of Scotland’s housing market with four charts.
Large housing association Sovereign is to close its head office in Newbury, Berkshire and relocate to nearby Basingstoke, local newspaper the Newbury Today reports.
Finally, journalist Jane Dudman has written a piece for The Guardian calling for better funding for refuges for victims of domestic violence.
On social media
London deputy mayor James Murray gives short shrift to the idea that micro-homes could solve the housing crisis:
No, they couldn’t t.co/RDIbZ7iKAi
— James Murray (@jamesmurray_ldn)No, they couldn't https://t.co/RDIbZ7iKAi
— James Murray (@jamesmurray_ldn) January 21, 2019
