London Property Finder
Property Week reported today on a study by The Town & Country Planning Association, which concluded that developers inability to meet demand for new homes, has been exacerbated by the Credit Crunch which means there is a massive shortfall in new homes. Indeed, local government figures for almost every London borough show that targets are far from being met.
This is a problem as increasing longevity, divorce rates and people marrying later as well as migration, increase the pressure for housing in the UK and particularly in London and the South East.
Property Week quotes TCPA Chief Executive Gideon Amos as saying:
‘This first independent assessment of the latest household projections shows continued escalation in newly forming households at a time when the house building industry is unable to match demand due to the credit crunch. The worrying implication of this report and its picture of a burgeoning older population – 3.7m of the population increase are aged 65 and over – is the spectre of rising overcrowding, homelessness and social exclusion.
‘The gap between the homes we need and the houses available is forecast to become increasingly stark with overcrowding the only option for many who are unable to obtain mortgages. Even when credit conditions improve and mortgages again become available the current under-supply of additional homes, will quickly risk a return to house prices spiralling beyond peoples reach.’
Property Week also has a quote from Dr Alan Holmans, a senior research fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research at Cambridge University and co-author of the report: ‘The figures presented in this paper suggest that Government targets to increase the annual rate of additions to the housing stock to 240,000 a year by 2016 and to add 3 million additional units by 2020 fall significantly short of requirements.’
The rich job market in London and the South East attracts people worldwide which means supply is unlikely to usurp demand in the long-term. London is most resilient followed by the ever-increasing commuter belt. The margin between non-prime but desirable areas of London and the countryside has lessened significantly in recent years but a tightening of belts is likely to mean some second home-owners, who have fuelled the country , will sell, rather than lose their primary home.
While super-prime property is relatively unaffected at present, prime is starting to suffer and the mid-market (750K - £2 million) is quiet but there is more movement than the press would suggest. London will always attract new blood and while gains made in 2007 will be wiped out in some areas, not all roads in London and the South East will be affected in the future. Your property fortune is in the buying, but if you’re reading our blog - you probably know that, don’t you? This London Property Finder will do you proud!
Technorati Tags: commuter belt, downsizers, House Prices, houses for over 65s, London House Prices, London job market, London Property Finder, property targets in London boroughs, second homes, South East job market, spiralling house prices
Tags: commuter belt, downsizers, House Prices, houses for over 65s, London House Prices, London job market, London Property Finder, property targets in London boroughs, second homes, South East job market, spiralling house prices
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