Monthly Archive for November, 2006

Hotel Development Booming in Manchester

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 28, 2006
in Manchester Property Market
. 0 Comments

Yet another, exciting commercial development has risen within Manchester.
The former redundant BT building on London Road has finally been rescued by the Scottish Leisure group Macdonald Hotels hoping to successfully transform the run down building into a luxuries 4* hotel. Construction is currently underway, which for many visitors of Manchester may witness as they travel into central Manchester.

The project is expected to cost roughly £33 million, with as much as 2,000,000 sq meters of floor space the plan is to create 215 bedrooms on 11 floors, located in the heart of Piccadilly, which has excellent transport links to other cities across the country. The hotel will have an impressive glass- clad exterior, within the building there will be an extensive range of facilities comprising of large conference space combined with the latest technology, the ability to hold up to 280 individuals. Furthermore, it will contain a stunning 150 seated restaurant, positioned on the first floor of the hotel. The hotel is scheduled to be completed and open for business in October 2007, generating an estimated 130 jobs.

Hotel developments have been big business for Manchester, with many investors continuingly snatching up run down buildings and selecting ideal locations, transforming the buildings into beautiful, modern hotels. This attracts tremendous publicity and visitors to the North West capital. The boom in this industry has been due to a number reasons, but mainly the focus has been on the leading football clubs in the region especially Manchester United Football Club, based in Old Trafford and vast number of shopping amenities available to visitors such as The Arndale and Trafford Centre. In addition there has also been an increase in the popularity of Manchester as a business, sporting and entertainment venue.

The opening of this fantastic new hotel will create greater competition on an existing saturated hotel market. Competition will be rife in particular the Piccadilly area in which many of its prestigious hotels Malmaison and Radisson Edwardian are already situated. Also a popular destination for visitors is Deansgate which holds the 5* Hilton situated in Beetham Tower, which is nearby to Piccadilly. Consumer’s choice has forever more increased with now such a varied selection of hotels available to us in Manchester, this market looks set to continue to grow from strength to strength, visiting Manchester couldn’t be anymore relaxing and enjoyable.

There are also plans to build another leading 4*Hotel in the huge Inacity Tower, situated in the Piccadilly area, which will be Europe’s highest residential building. It will incorporate a massive 220 bedrooms for the hotel and a staggering 430 ultra modern apartments, if all goes to plan it is expected to be completed in 2009.

Although at Rent Home Manchester we believe these hotels are brilliant for Manchester’s economy, as this indicates Manchester has a high volume of visitors, and these hotels can accommodate most of them during their stay in the city. In addition high profits can be obtained for businesses and therefore money can be reinvested into the city. However there seems to be a lack of real affordable family homes being built, in which we feel are vital in order to ration out the demand of housing and prevent further prices rises for homes in Manchester.

Source:
http://business.scotsman.com/media.cfm?id=1702012006

New Development - Luxury New Apartments!!!

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 27, 2006
in Sheffield Property Market
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Sheffield city centre will be graced with prestigious luxury apartments by around 2010. These apartments will be held in what will be the tallest building in Sheffield. This block will be a 32 storey high building situated between Arundel Gate and Peace Gardens. The price range on these flats are between £130,000 to £290,000 in phase one and £407,000 for a penthouse in the next phase. Ground work has already started on the site and actual construction of the site due to start around February 2007. in the beginning there was concerns with the construction of the 32 storey block, with the scale of the construction so close to the Victorian Town Hall and also the shadow that would be cast on the Winter Gardens but after careful consideration Councillors gave the go ahead. The St Paul’s Tower which is what the tower is to be named is the latest phase of the £180 million Heart of the City Programme.

However some critics have doubts on the need of more apartments being built in Sheffield. With more and more apartments getting built and even some apartments are left standing empty there is some doubt to whether more apartment are really needed. But we at Rent a Home Sheffield Team believe that the construction of the St Paul’s Tower is a well timed asset to the city. It has been timed perfectly with the regeneration project of Sheffield’s city centre. The towers prestigious appearance and luxury apartments will attract the right sort of crowd the new “Sheffield” will need after all the regeneration projects have finished. The towers image will attract the young professionals and classier individuals who lust for the best of the best of style and attention to detail.

st pauls tower

The Harrogate based City Lofts , which is working with Heart of the City developers CTP St James are also behind projects in Liverpool, Salford Quays, Leeds, Nottingham and Cardiff. Mr Hurst on behalf of the St Paul’s Towers said “this is our most prestigious building to date, no question about it. It will be a landmark building and carry our flag for some time to come” As said above the Rent a Home Sheffield Team think that the success of the tower and the success of the regeneration project was attracting the type of commercial development that would bring investors and individuals interested in the city.

Source - Sheffield Telegraph

Eco - Friendly City apartments and homes

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 22, 2006
in Manchester Property Market
. 0 Comments

Looking for a change? How about living in an environmentally friendly village?

Yes that’s right, Manchester City Council are in talks with big developers, regarding an ambitious scheme to build a ‘eco- village’ just outside Manchester city centre, in the heart of Oldham town centre.

There are discussions to build a 10 storey apartment, with more than 121 apartments, and additional penthouses, on a large plot of land, which is currently a used car park. Furthermore, planners are hoping to build many 3-4 bedroom houses near a site at St Mary’s. These challenging plans are the intentions of major players of the construction business ‘Gleeson Homes’. The scheme is part of the council’s housing renewal program. Renewable energy sources will be produced on site through solar panels and wind turbines. They expect the mixture of different types of housing will attract the young professionals and families seeking contemporary modern flats in the city. This is brilliant news; as many of us can save much more on the dreaded utility bills.

eco village

With the current environmental concerns in the UK, and the increase in car ownership, the general public may view this as a possible solution to the problems. As green house gasses can be reduced up to an incredible 70%. However, it may not be attractive nor completely eradicate the pollution and global warming in the long term, but in the short term, these developments may encourage other councils to think carefully about doing their bit to protect the environment.

Initial ideas are to build one bed city apartments at 517sq ft up to 3 bed flats at 1,087sq ft and 4 bed houses at 1,389 sq ft. Although prices are not set in stone yet, construction will begin hopefully early next year.

Source:http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/homesearch/latest/s/228/228277
_ecovillage_with_real_staying_power.html

Interest Rates Rise!

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 14, 2006
in Property Know
. 0 Comments

After huge speculation over the forth coming interest rates, people’s predictions have been confirmed. We at Rent Home Manchester, probably like most of you out there, believed this was going to be the inevitable outcome. On the 9th of November 2006, interest rates rose from 4.75% to 5%, its highest level since September 2001.

Mervyn King (head of Monetary Policy Committee); decided upon this rise due to number of reasons, firstly there has been a sharp increase in prices in all aspect of the economy. In particularly the housing market has seen considerable prices rises, as house price growth has exceeded expectations due to a shortage of supply. Following this we have seen positive economic growth, an increase in consumer confidence and in particular a substantial rise in energy prices.

The rise in interest rates is necessary in order to curb inflationary pressures, especially house prices which are continuing to rise about 8% every year, and at the same time needed to promote economic prosperity. However this news won’t come lightly to home owners, as this will no doubt increase their mortgage payments. For example a person with an £150.000 mortgage will expect roughly a £20 increase a month on their existing mortgage. Consequently this will place added debt problems with many more increasingly finding it difficult to make repayments readily, on an already over stretched debt nation.

Although we at Rent a Home Manchester, believe the rise in interest rates won’t have a significant effect on peoples spending habits, nor will it cool down the property market. As we have seen in the past years it hasn’t been borrowing costs affecting the housing market, instead it has been the supply and demand of houses. We are still witnessing a shortage of supply and considerable high demand; therefore prices can only continue to rise rapidly. We expect property prices to rise in the near future, due to the consequence of population growth, especially the expansion of the European Union, and a trend of number of people living alone, but remember this is only Rent a Home Manchester own opinion.

Pimlico A Hidden Gem in London

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 13, 2006
in London Property Market
. 1 Comment

IS this true? A Hidden Property Gem in Central London?

Destination: Postcode SW1 and Traditional Stucco Mansions – Pimlico
Public Transport: Pimlico Underground Station – Victoria Line

Pimlico is situated right next to Belgravia and Westminster, and is often overlooked by many property hunters for reasons that remain unknown to the Rent A Home London Team. It is on the edge of Zone 1 on the Victoria Line, and is blessed with the waterfront of the River Thames. Its close link to the Victoria Underground station, provides it with easy access to Victoria Coach Station and Train Station – which both provide Public Transport to all areas of the United Kingdom.

Pimlico is an ideal location to live in Central London, especially since it is still undervalued. It is not a sought after place by many of the high flyers, because it currently does not have the reputation of the likes of Chelsea, Fulham, Notting Hill Gate and so on. The area is roughly delimited by Victoria Station to the north and the River Thames to the south, spanned by Vauxhall Bridge, which allows ready access to Vauxhall. The entire district was formerly owned by the property owning Grosvenor family.

Pimlico’s most famous attraction is the Tate Britain on Millbank. This is the original Tate Gallery and is home, as the name suggests, primarily to art of specifically British origin. The district’s association with fine art has been reinforced by the Chelsea College of Art and Design’s recent move to the former Royal Army Medical College next to the Tate. This has also had the happy result of opening up the spacious college quadrangle so that the three extensive and elaborate red brick college blocks can be appreciated.

One set back is the lack of shopping areas available to Pimlico, however since Public Transport is close by, it is very easy to take the London Underground to Oxford Circus or other shopping areas nearby.

“Developers are hastily converting townhouse offices into flats and two large new developments are pencilled in for the southwestern corner: Grosvenor Waterside, ritzy apartment blocks built round an old dock, and Chelsea Barracks, which developers are now fighting over. These developments will blur the border between Chelsea and Pimlico. Typical buyers at the moment are “City workers in the second salary tier”, says Dawes. “Those with seven-figure bonuses still chase places like Notting Hill because Pimlico isn’t fashionable, but it will be in about three years. It’s the next hotspot.”

“Everyone agrees that Pimlico prices will keep rising. “We’ve lots of investors who can’t believe how cheap it is, when it’s so good for commuting to the City and has great infrastructure,” says Dawes. “Pimlico has further to go in terms of prices than Belgravia,” says Young. The area is brilliantly situated, with Tate Britain, the Thames, Kings Road and Belgravia’s Elizabeth Street shops within a short walk. Victoria station serves Kent, Sussex and Gatwick as well as Oxford Street and the City. Politicians can nip to Parliament within the requisite eight minutes when summoned by the division bell.”

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14050-2443923,00.htm

Canadian Ian Bromley brought in to reshape Sheffield

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 13, 2006
in Sheffield Property Market
. 0 Comments

Sheffield has just recruited a 43 year old Canadian man from Toronto, that man is Ian Bromley. He was selected on the basis of his reputation for leading economic development in both the private and public sectors in North America. Sir Peter Middleton who chairs the creative Sheffield board, describes him as an experimental and skilled professional. Ian already admitted that he had a soft spot for the UK from the previous consultancy work he did in the past years. He also got advice from friends which he took on board, they told him that Sheffield was a safe city and also a lot of good schools in the area.

Ian will have an initial budget of £6 million a year, this money was funded by the central government and European regeneration funds. One of Ian’s main tasks will be to create an effective mechanism for the regeneration of the city, he has to tackle jobs which include reducing overlapping boundaries of existing organisations.

sheffield regeneration

The Rent A Home Team believes that Ian has a difficult task ahead of him. While he is consolidating the whole regeneration team as a whole, he could create uncertainty and inefficiency, with potential investors and developers unsure which organisation to approach. Ian on the other hand doesn’t just have to manage the regeneration project, he also has the task of marketing Sheffield not just nationally but internationally, to get the Sheffield brand known world wide. This marketing will most definitely be a huge boost to Sheffield economy and have the potential to reap huge economic rewards and status to the city. We the Rent A Home Team believe that Sheffield has the potential to be a key city with significant driving force to Britain’s economy, obviously remembering this is our opinion only.

sources: Sheffield Telegraph, www.propertytelegraph.co.uk

London – Property Market News

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 9, 2006
in London Property Market and Property Know
. 0 Comments

london westminster

London – Property Market News

The Property Know Team Formerly the Rent A Home London Team; has randomly composed some interesting facts about London’s Property Market and Property News in general.

Did you know – that in FIVE (5) years from now, the average home will be £400, 000. Well that is for London only. Currently the average house price is £330, 000. Also the London Housing Federation are predicating that in five years time, you will need a salary averaging £80, 000 to get an “average” mortgage! For your information: The average house price is calculated from the average from the; average price of a detached house, a semi-detached house, a terraced house and finally flats/apartments.

Do you watch Location, Location on Channel 4? Well from their Best and Worst Places to live for 2006 – London’s boroughs/areas scored the highest for, unfortunately, the worst places to live! Hackney came first, and tower Hamlets came second and Islington came fifth! So think twice – if you are planning to move there!

To have an atheistically pleasing bathroom or a new kitchen or not? Well in the view of the Rent A Home Team – we have always thought that it would be more beneficial and cost effective to either expand your property, by creating more space or adding another room (loft conversions etc). They both roughly cost the same price, and we all know that the more rooms the more expensive the property. A One bedroom house or a Two Bedroom house? You tell us! So do not jump into renovations, and calling your local builder to fit a new kitchen or go on a spending spree in B&Q or Homebase. You might splash around £2000 - £4000, and chances are in proportion of what you spend is what the increase in value will be! On the other hand – if you add another room you will hit the jackpot!

Sources: http://www.housing.org.uk/regions/aboutus.asp?region=4 & http://news.bbc.co.uk

Home Information Packs aka HIPs

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 9, 2006
in Property Know
. 1 Comment

Are Home Information Packs (HIPS) Necessary?

Once again, there have been relentless campaigns over the HIP (Home Information packs). HIP’S is designed to highlight possible discrepancies of a property. From a sellers point of view Hip’s can be seen as a costly and time consuming process, on the other hand in a buyers point of view, Hips is deemed necessary in order to for see the potential problems your chosen property may have. It has been revealed there will be a preliminarily trial of the Hip’s report, which will be undertaken in 6 major cities across the UK, and these are Southampton, Cambridge, Bath, Huddersfield, Newcastle and Northampton.

The hips report is designed to shift the emphasis of buyer to the seller in order to collect relevant information about the property. The initial aim was to cut down on unnecessary waste, save time and make the market more efficient- all this seems reasonable. However there have been numerous complaints from mortgage lenders and other professional bodies insisting that the reports would dissuade people from putting their houses on the market.

We at Rent A Home Manchester, just like yourselves like to save money, but with the HIP’s report expected to cost roughly £650, this is a hefty price to pay but to make money matters worse, the report has to be reassessed every 3-6 months. In case there are further problems which can be identified during the selling process, adding more costs to the current situation. This would save buyers millions, which they currently waste when sales fall through before contracts are even signed.

Rightly so, there are already many costs to selling a house, finding a good estate agent and solicitors is difficult as it is and not to mention costly, adding additional costs such as the HIP’s report will create higher demand and no supply of housing at all. This will no doubt cause higher property prices; in the short run interest rates will continue to rise rapidly in order to curb the increase in prices. The government has really over looked the issue. In most circumstances buyers would also insist on an independent survey themselves, therefore the report would be seen as pointless by sellers.

Even though, there are continuous problems with Hip’s one of many is the fact that there is currently a lack of experts or even signed on to relevant courses to conduct the Hip’s report. With all this in mind, the government expects the HIP’s report will become compulsory on the 1st June 2007. Sellers must be aware of these pricey demands before putting your house on the market!!!

The packs will include:
• Terms of sale
• Evidence of title
• Copies of planning, listed building or building regulations consents
• A local search
• Guarantees for any work on the property
• An energy performance certificate

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4784923.stm

Edinburgh’s Waterfront - Granton Project

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 9, 2006
in Edinburgh Property Market
. 1 Comment

Did you know that Edinburgh is currently planning to create and regenerate one of its most ignored part of the city. To the North of Edinburgh you will find at the edge of the city a waterfront, which for the most part has been neglected.

Waterfront Property Developments are starting to become the more popular trend for Property Developers and Property Buyers. Looking at our other Rent A Home Websites; London has had a craze for Properties in Canary Wharf and Wood Wharf and also Sheffield with it’s Property Development in CastleGate & Victoria Quays. There has been an increase in demand for these Properties and also looking at the bigger picture, they have an immense impact on the area. They are economically beneficial and they create desirable areas in which people want to live in. Urban regeneration, notably around water fronts, benefits the city from residential and commercial development. Hence, why Edinburgh – Scotland are following the trend, to aid in increasing it’s city’s already renowned reputation.

The Edinburgh Waterfront is an enormous regeneration project encompassing over 120 hectares (346 acres) of land! The idea is to exploit the water views of “Firth on Forth” and to completely regenerate the currently run down area in Edinburgh. They have code named it “The Granton Waterfront Project” and it is the regeneration of brownfield and the contaminated land at the Granton Waterfront in the North of Edinburgh. It is a fantastic development opportunity as it lies around 3 km from Edinburgh city centre, and has some of the best views in Edinburgh. To the North is the sea, while to the South is the world famous skyline of Edinburgh Castle, the ridge of the Old Town and the green of Arthur’s Seat and the Holyrood Park.

How long will it take? It is estimated to take around 15 years, but to be honest these are only projections. So most likely it will take longer than that.

What exactly is going to be built?

5,300 Residential units
638,010 sq ft of Commercial space (mainly offices)
261,452 sq ft of Retail space
248,224 sq ft for Hotels
69,691 sq ft of Leisure space
85,987 sq ft of Cultural space (currently investigating including cultural elements such as a theatre and modern art gallery)
1 or 2 new schools

So again, keep an eye out for future property developments in the North of Edinburgh! This is really the one to watch in Edinburgh, and at the Rent A Home Edinburgh team, we predict that this will have a huge impact on Edinburgh and Scotland.

The New; Old Town of Edinburgh

Published
by
Property Know Team
on November 5, 2006
in Edinburgh Property Market
. 1 Comment

A History of the “Towns” of Edinburgh; the City of Edinburgh is split into two Towns - the New and the Old Town. We found this interesting on how it has effected how the current infrastructure of Edinburgh is shaped.

The Old Town has preserved its medieval plan and many Reformation-era buildings. One end is closed by the castle and the main artery, the Royal Mile, leads away from it; minor streets (called closes or wynds) lead downhill on either side of the main spine in a herringbone pattern. Large squares mark the location of markets or surround major public buildings such as St Giles Cathedral and the Law Courts.

Other notable places of interest nearby include the Royal Museum of Scotland, Surgeons’ Hall, the University of Edinburgh, and numerous underground streets and vaults, relics of previous phases of construction. The street layout, typical of the old quarters of many northern European cities, is made especially picturesque in Edinburgh, where the castle perches on top of a rocky crag, the remnants of a dormant volcano, and the main street runs down the crest of a ridge from it.

The New Town was an 18th century solution to the problem of an increasingly crowded Old Town. The city had remained incredibly compact, confined to the ridge running down from the castle. In 1766 a competition to design the New Town was won by James Craig, a 22-year-old architect. The plan that was built created a rigid, ordered grid, which fitted well with enlightenment ideas of rationality. The principal street was to be George Street, which follows the natural ridge to the north of the Old Town. Either side of it are the other main streets of Princes Street and Queen Street. Princes Street has since become the main shopping street in Edinburgh, and few Georgian buildings survive on it. Linking these streets were a series of perpendicular streets. At the east and west ends are St. Andrew’s Square and Charlotte Square respectively. The latter was designed by Robert Adam and is often considered one of the finest Georgian squares in the world. Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, is on the north side of Charlotte Square.

Sitting in the glen between the Old and New Towns was the Nor’ Loch, which had been both the city’s water supply and place for dumping sewage. By the 1820s it was drained. Some plans show that a canal was intended, but the Princes Street Gardens were created instead. Excess soil from the construction of the buildings was dumped into the loch, creating what is now The Mound. In the mid-19th century the National Gallery of Scotland and Royal Scottish Academy Building were built on The Mound, and tunnels to Waverley Station driven through it.

The New Town was so successful that it was extended greatly. The grid pattern was not maintained, but rather a more picturesque layout was created. Today the New Town is considered by many to be one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture and planning in the world.

Information Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh