Out-Law News 1 min. read
14 Dec 2012, 3:18 pm
The survey, which monitors every active public or private residential scheme of more than 50 units across Greater London, reported 5,483 new unit starts across 44 schemes since the last survey in the summer.
Almost a quarter of the new starts were found in Tower Hamlets, driven by the early stages of work on the Lincoln Plaza and a number of developments by housing associations to the east of the city.
Eight London boroughs have had no new schemes starting since the last survey.
Flats account for the majority of the unit types, with only 4% of the units being house construction. The survey showed a shift to larger average flat unit sizes, with two and three bedroom flats accounting for 68% of the units.
“We have seen a noticeable shift in construction activity to the inner boroughs at the expense of the outer boroughs," said DJD partner Anthony Duggan in a statement.
"Of the top ten most active boroughs, only two are in outer London, whilst Central London now accounts for 34 per cent of residential construction in London compared to just 20 per cent 18 months ago," he said. "So despite space constraints developers are capitalising on the growing demand for Central London properties fuelled in part by private European purchasers and far Eastern Investors.”
“While the number of new starts has increased, the share of affordable units at these schemes has fallen, reaching a low of just 35 per cent," said DJD director Mathew Evans-Pollard. “Despite the recent fall in the share of affordable construction, there is good reason to expect this to increase again soon, once the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) contracts negotiated last year get underway. However, looking further ahead, there is uncertainty over the availability of grant funding after March 2015, which could start to impact on large scale projects.”
The report showed that a total of 236 residential schemes are currently under construction across London, which will overall provide 37,304 units.
