Urban Exposure Blog

October 14, 2011
by urbanexposure
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The National Landlords Association (NLA) reports continued growth in buy to let mortgage sector

According to the latest NLA findings, compared with Q1 of this year, the number of buy to let schemes in April to June demonstrated an increase of 25%, with average loans increasing by a reported £2,166 since January 2011, demonstrating 6.4% growth. Urban Exposure’s Adrian Mediratta comments: “these figures demonstrate the opportunities available, and being taken advantage of, when it comes to buy to let investors and lenders confidence in the sector”.

October 14, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Luxury Property Developments in Prime Central Locations Secure Extensive Financial Backing from Investors

In the last year, a number of sizeable luxury development schemes that had previously faltered when it came to securing or maintaining financing agreements post credit crunch, have been resurrected, with financial backing agreed in some of London’s highest value projects.

October 12, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Bank of England presses button for £75bn of quantitative easing, but what will be the effect on UK property markets?

In the same week that credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded twelve UK banks, including Britain’s part-nationalised banks Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Bank of England authorised a new round of quantitative easing (QE) with £75bn to be used to buy assets from the financial markets. The move has had mixed reactions from economists and commentators, but what will this cash injection mean for UK property markets? Urban Exposure’s Randeesh Sandhu comments: “if as is widely expected, inflation rises as a result of QE, investors are increasingly likely to seek out assets, rather than cash holdings; a weak sterling will also continue to encourage the trend for foreign buyers investing in London, and this may mean good news for UK property.”

October 10, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Market Gains in Prime Central Locations are set to Continue This Year

According to the latest Knight Frank Global Briefing, despite new records being set across the most exclusive London neighborhoods, the market is preparing for further gains throughout the duration of 2011 in prime central locations. Urban Exposure’s Daljit Sandhu comments “as a lender we keep a very close eye on property prices across the UK, but in particular in our core market of Prime Central London”.

October 7, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Halifax Latest Report of First Time Buyers Demonstrates Property Pricing North South Divide

According to the latest research published by the Halifax, the disparity between property prices in the North and some areas in the South is deepening. This is exemplified by the average age of first time buyers recorded by region; and in the South East the cost of homeownership and the ratio of average wage to average house price far outweighs that of the North. Although Urban Exposure’s Daljit Sandhu thinks that social issues are a contributing factor in these statistics: “people are getting married and settling down much later in life now, with the preference for marriage being late 20’s and early 30’s”.

October 5, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Average Deposit for UK Buyers Increases Ten-fold in Twenty Year Period

Latest research conducted by First Direct indicates that the average deposit now required for first time buyers is £66,000, demonstrating a ten-fold increase compared with twenty years ago, when in 1990 the recorded average was £6,600. According to Urban Exposure’s Adrian Mediratta the sum required in order to secure a foothold on the property ladder has “grown exponentially, and is not reflective of rates of inflation over the same period”. Read more →

October 3, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Knight Frank Development Report Predicts Prices Will Double by 2016 in some London Areas

It has been widely reported in recent weeks that since the credit crisis, the main factors driving house prices in prime central London are the political and financial volatility of markets around the world; driving global wealth to seek a safe haven for investment, with the fall in the value of the pound effectively providing a discount for foreign buyers to invest in UK property. Knight Frank’s latest hotspots report highlights how new transport links; latent demand and regeneration will play an increasingly important role in the next 5 years. As Urban Exposure’s Adrian Mediratta explains: “there has been some nervousness about how long the growth fuelled by foreign demand will continue, especially as the economic crisis enters a new phase. However this report shows London has other cards to play that will continue to fuel its stability and growth”.

September 29, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Greg Clark Finalising New Planning Guidelines to Speed up Housing Development Across the UK

The debate has rolled on about Mr Clark’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) with new campaigners providing their opinions on the reforms. It is predicted that under the new guidelines applications will take no more than twelve months for a conclusion to be reached, including any appeal against the proposed plans. However, according to Urban Exposure’s Daljit Sandhu, if Mr Clark’s strategy does not take into account a number of other factors currently impacting on England’s housing market: “although the reforms will make the planning process for developers easier than those in existence under current legislation; we should also remember the issue is sometimes not lack of opportunity for development due to planning, but financing for developments that is still a major problem”.

September 26, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Coalition Government Presses on with new Planning Policy, Despite Resistance from Campaigners

A new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) proposed by Planning Minister Greg Clark, aims to expedite local building applications, to help aid the current lack of housing in the UK and the underachievement of government targets for building new homes across the country. It is estimated that thousands of development plans are ‘stuck in the system’ for more than twelve months at a time, often due to what Urban Exposure’s Daljit Sandhu identifies as: “bureaucratic red tape and lengthy reviews”, however, the new proposals have not been welcomed by all.

September 25, 2011
by urbanexposure
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Confused by the Array of Property Market Indices?

The government has in the past come under pressure to review the number of property market indices that are published, indicating average house prices and other key factors impacting on property forecasts in England, however to date, no action has been taken to provide clearer guidelines. According to Urban Exposure’s Daljit Sandhu “currently there are a number of indices available, providing conflicting information about property market trends which is confusing for buyers and sellers alike”.