This year’s London Real Estate Forum was all about residential property. This is as much a reflection of the political times we live in: the hopes are that the Great British Housing Crisis will make some people very rich indeed.
As a renter and aspiring owner of a postage-stamp-sized flat in an outer London borough, conversations about how much rents and house prices will need to rise to make development viable are frustrating given the immediate need to build more homes. Yet this is at the heart of the problem.
By freeing up the planning system, the government hopes to reduce the time taken to get shovels in the ground, thereby reducing the land bank required to operate. However, when it comes to planning, London has its own issues. Viewing corridors and a general dislike of tall buildings make it difficult to build up in what is a relatively low-rise city.
