Working in partnership with councils and housing associations, the Mayor’s housing team will oversee the building of new homes in all 32 London Boroughs. According to Mr Khan, the project will result in 17,500 rental properties and a further 32,000 that will combine Shared Ownership with the new London Living Rent scheme.

Introduced by the Mayor in 2016, London Living Rent is aimed at helping workers on middle incomes save for deposits that will enable them to move into Shared Ownership homes. Eligible applicants will be able to pay rent that is based on a third of the average local household income. Housing Associations will be able to offer residents a combination of housing options based on their specific circumstances and the local economy.

Planning is already well underway, and sites have been identified and purchased for 25,000 of the 50,00 that will become available. Battersea estate agent, Eden Harper said, “The Mayor has said he’s keen to resolve the London housing crisis and avoid people being priced out of living in the city. It won’t happen overnight, but it’s welcome news for local residents.”

So far, the project has already broken records at City Hall and is the biggest housing project funded to date. Plaza Estates, Knightsbridge estate agent explains, “This is the biggest project that London housing associations have worked on, which really demonstrates how urgent the housing situation has become in our capital city.

As often reported in the media, we have seen record levels of food bank usage over recent years, and with an increasingly large and ageing population the housing crisis has never been more serious. The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower has placed housing even higher on the agenda, so safety is also high on the agenda.

All homes built as a result of the new project will be built to the highest possible safety standards and will be fitted with sprinklers, fire alarms and smoke detectors. They will also be equipped with safety instructions and clear escape routes to avoid tragedies like Grenfell ever happening again.

Staff at City Hall are currently dealing with applications for approximately 30,000 homes, and almost £500 million has been set aside for further properties. The Mayor has been talking about improving the standard of living in London since he was elected in May of last year, and it looks like he’s well on the way to achieving his target of 90,000 affordable homes by 2021.

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“The hot summer of 2017 appears to be helping to calm those fears as there are increasing signs that activity and prices are beginning to stabilise after previous declines,” said Denhan Guaranteed Rent. “Whether that will lead to sustainable price rises still remains to be seen, but two months with no price falls is very welcome news.”

Central London Property Sales

The latest data from upmarket estate agency Knight Frank, reports house prices in Prime Central London were unchanged on the month in June. The second consecutive month of no change in average house prices for the region.

Prime Central London is defined by Knight Frank as: Belgravia. Chelsea. Hyde Park. Islington. Kensington. Knightsbridge. Marylebone. Mayfair. Notting Hill. South Kensington. St John’s Wood. Riverside. The City. The City Fringe.

On a quarterly basis, house prices fell just 0.3% in the second quarter, compared with third quarter and was the lowest quarterly decline in over a year.

Property sales activity also improved, with the number of property exchanges between January and May, some 14.2% higher than the same period of 2016. In addition, there was a 15% increase in the number of potential home-buyers registering with the estate agent, during the first five months of 2017 compared with the same period a year earlier.

“The Knight Frank report does send out a more positive message than has been apparent in other indices and surveys about the Prime Central London market,” said Proskips. “However, it doesn’t mean England’s capital city is out of the woods yet, there are likely to be numerous bumps in the road ahead, but if prices can hold steady, that would be a great platform to build on once Brexit negotiations bear fruit and concerns are answered.”

Renters Return to London

It’s not just the prime central London sales market that was more positive during June, the rental market was much more active, too. With the number of property construction completions slowing down a little, demand for homes was more apparent during June and this was reflected in smaller falls in rent levels.

Knight Frank’s data showed a 13% gain in the number of new tenants registering for a prime central London property between January and May 2017, compared with the same period in 2016. And, agreed tenancies surged by a quarter during the same period.

Average agreed rents in June, meanwhile, were 4.4% lower than June 2016, the smallest decline in this measure since August 2016. In quarterly terms, rents were just 0.7% down in the second quarter of 2017 compared with the first quarter. This was the smallest quarterly fall since November 2015, the estate agent said.

“London’s rental market is in a bit of a sweet spot right now; rents are still falling, which is good news for tenants, but not as much as they have been, which is encouraging for landlords,” said Assetgrove. “While this situation is unlikely to continue for the long-term, it’s hopefully the start of a modestly healthier period for prime central London landlords.”

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