London house prices are predicted to rise by 20% over the next five years. 20%!
This is driven partly by lack of house building, which in turn is constricted by an inability to borrow, and also more demand with a planned rapid increase in London’s population y one million people. A triple whammy for any Londoners wanting to stay in London over the long term. We need a London full of Londoners making long term commitment to work towards making London a better place for them and their families and friends. Not a dormitory London where most people pass through towards cheaper housing somewhere else, making commitments to other places in terms of civic pride and social involvement – building that elusive social capital elsewhere.
The government ‘Build now, pay later’ scheme to provide land for developments now for free and helping with their cash-flow is a great concept but I fear it will be take a long time to get started and wont have the scale needed to really make a difference to London.
This graph shows UK house prices over time. Plotting a London version would see an even steeper curve.
With the VAT increase coming out of inflation figures shortly the underlying real rate of inflation will be shown to be low and house price increases being real increases above and beyond inflation.
What will stop this?
We need half a million extra London homes just to cope with government led migration into London. Doubling that to a million extra homes might get house prices down to sensible levels….
What do you think should be done to make family homes affordable for people to buy?
A simple fast solution which would also be environmentally good.
Would be to convert and extend the existing housing stock.
There are lots of possible changes to existin houses which would help.
Southwark is full of little victorian houses which are a very poor use of land and the Southwark Plan is not allowing these properties to be extended or converted to gain the mamimum use of the land they occupy.
1. Give Flats the same Permitted develop rights as houses receive. Ie full width loft conversions and ground floor extension etc this would allow plenty of 1 bed flats to become 2 bed flats etc
2. Remove the limitations on converting houses into flats the nonsense of 130 sqm as originally built should be removed so that any property which is more than 130 sqm can be converted into flats.
3. Remove the restriction on increasing the ridge height for houses with London roof design as has been seen in islington and central london the mansard loft conversion looks absolutly more that acceptable why not for Southwark.
4. Southwark is the freeholder allow leasholders the right to purchase loft space so that loft conversions can be undertaken.
One gets the feeling that Southwark Planning is there to keep the planners busy rather that make the most of the land and existing housing stock of the borough.
As the Southwark problem of a lack of housing is often down to the very poor use and restrictions on increasing the existing stock.
The current southwark plan places unnessacary restrictions on Loft conversions extensions and conversion of the existing housing stock.
Also any new development projects should not be restricted in height. Only council related development is allowed to break the rules on heigh.
It’s no wonder that developers are loathed to develop when they can’t break the rules in the same way. Double standards in favour of council / prefered development.
Really not a complicated Fix!