Wharf Life Property Supplement, Jan 11, 2023

Canary Wharf’s evolution continues apace.

To the east of the original estate, the concrete cores of Wood Wharf continue to rise beside the housing, office blocks and commercial space that made up its first phase. Many residents – both tenants and owners – now call it home and a flurry of restaurants, bars and facilities have opened up there or are in the pipeline, all firming up the proposition that Canary Wharf is both an attractive place to live as well as work.

But alongside the forthcoming phases of Wood Wharf, there’s something happening across the dock. North Quay is Canary Wharf Group’s latest major redevelopment project on the far side of the Elizabeth Line station to the original estate.

Outline planning permission to regenerate just over three hectares of land – formerly used as a construction site for Crossrail – to create some 3.5million sq ft of space suitable for a variety of uses was granted in March last year.

Detailed plans have yet to emerge, but will include some office space, some retail and some residential, further boosting options for those who want to make Canary Wharf their address.

That may include starter homes, broadening the estate’s potential intake to include a broader mix of residents than its current stock allows.

What is already evident is that North Quay is central to CWG’s project to establish a cluster of life sciences firms and organisations at Canary Wharf. To that end, the developer, in a joint venture with Kadans Science Partner, recently submitted a detailed planning application for a 23-storey, 823,000sq ft tower – a structure billed as Europe’s largest and most technologically advanced

life sciences facility. The “vertical campus” has been designed to house laboratories – 60% of its total floor space – on every level.

Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects, the tower will be all-electric, built with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind and be configured to allow companies to expand as they grow and develop.

Canary Wharf Group CEO Shobi Khan said: “We have been developing our vision for a world-class life sciences hub at Canary Wharf since 2019, and this is a significant milestone in our journey.

“This project will continue the transformation of Canary Wharf, providing a sustainable, mixed-use environment for the next generation of life science offices.”

Kadans CEO Michel Leemhuis said: “Kadans prides itself on being a leading contributor to the evolution of the life sciences sector and this is a great example of how we are driving the development of innovative stateof-the-art lab buildings.

“By capitalising on our previous experience and using lessons learned, we are able to make a significant step forward in the development of life science buildings.

“It marks a step change in the way ecosystems for knowledge-intensive businesses are designed and developed.”

As the life sciences cluster grows, it will lead to a new influx of workers on the estate, many of whom will doubtless look for places to live in east London both at Canary Wharf and in the surrounding area.

Go to canarywharf.com for more

Scan this for more about life sciences at North Quay

how the evolution of Canary Wharf continues as plans are submitted for the first building at North Quay

by Jon Massey

Square footage of space the North Quay development can provide – likely to be a blend of housing, laboratories, office space and retail

Artist’s impressions of the joint venture between Canary Wharf Group and Kadans Science Partner

An artist’s impression of how the CWG and Kadans building will look when work on the building at North Quay is finished

flats the final

by Jon Massey

Prospective shared ownership buyers need to hurry if they want to secure a property at east London’s Goodluck Hope development.

Housing association Notting Hill Genesis, which is marketing the affordable homes at Ballymore’s riverside scheme, has just a handful left to sell and is currently offering purchasers £1,500 towards legal fees if they opt for the only one left in Serapis House.

There’s a brand new community developing at Goodluck Hope and residents can also explore neighbouring London City Island

That one-bed apartment extends to around 530sq ft, comes with a private balcony and is available for £115,000, which buys you a 25% share of the property based on a full market value of £460,000.

At the time of writing three other properties in Prinsep House – a pair of one-beds and a two-bed – were also still on offer. Quarter shares in the smaller homes start at £118,750 while the same proportion of the larger property, which extends to around 930sq ft, costs £167,500.

The shared ownership properties at Goodluck Hope include balconies, integrated wardrobes in main bedrooms, fully fitted kitchens with Sinquastone grey worktops and Amitage Shanks sanitaryware in the bathrooms.

Residents get access to amenities on-site including a swimming pool and private cinema room as well as facilities at neighbouring development London City Island.

Notting Hill Genesis marketing manager Sarah Andrews said: “Our shared ownership homes at Goodluck Hope are perfectly

suited to first-time buyers looking to put down roots in an exciting part of east London.

“Buyers can enjoy open-plan living with views of the river Thames and access to sought-after amenities including a state-ofthe-art pool, gym, cinema and co-working space.

“There’s a brand new community developing at Goodluck Hope, including creative spaces at Trinity Buoy Wharf, and residents can also explore neighbouring London City Island with its bars, restaurants and cultural attractions.

“The homes are ideally suited to the modern Londoner, with space to work from home, as well as excellent transport connections to Canary Wharf and central London for those looking to commute.” Go to nhgsales.com for more details

Scan this code for more about the homes at Goodluck Hope

how Notting Hill Genesis is selling the last few shared ownership homes at Goodluck Hope in east London

Shared ownership properties remaining at Goodluck Hope at the time of going to press

Goodluck Hope’s facilities include a private cinema room for use by residents at the development

Sarah Andrews, Notting Hill Genesis

Residents at Goodluck Hope get access to both the pool at the development and the facilities at neighbouring London City Island

This 1,200sq ft house in Limehouse features a Victorian brick facade, is arranged over three floors and has been completely redesigned to suit the needs of modern family living.

featured property

There’s a fully fitted kitchen and dining room on the lower level, a reception room or guest bedroom on the ground floor and two further bedrooms upstairs as well as a fourpiece family bathroom. There’s also a private courtyard to the rear. During renovation, the property was re-wired and fitted with a new boiler system.

The property is within walking distance of Canary Wharf and is also close to Limehouse DLR. Go to hamptons.co.uk

contact Hamptons on 020 7346 5801 or email canarywharf@hamptons.co.uk for more about this property or similar homes on the agency’s books

Salmon Lane, E14 Guide: £925,000 - freehold

The property features a double-height dining space and a fully fitted kitchen

The house is located in Salmon Lane near Limehouse DLR station

View this home or others online at Hamptons’ website

A show home interior from one of the shared ownership properties marketed by Notting Hill Genesis

THE OBSERVATORY

1 & 2 bedroom apartments Don’t miss out on the last handful of apartments remaining in this stunning Thameside location. Intelligently designed, with many homes boasting balcony views of Southern Park providing the perfect environment in which to unwind.

Prices from £499,995

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www.docklandspropertyblog.com

I started my property career working for an independent estate agent in the Wapping area. Since 1994 I have been based in and around East London. I started my own company in 1995 and it has grown from humble beginnings to become a well respected sales, lettings and property management agency operating in the Docklands and East London areas. Then in 2007, I opened my first branch in the Medway area. I am proud that we now have three branches in Kent. My operation is set to expand in 2020 and beyond.

I am a long term member of both the NAEA and ARLA and a former Regional Representative for the latter. As the owner of a growing residential and commercial property portfolio, I understand well the trials and tribulations that property owners go through. I have well over 20 years experience of regenerative Dock’s areas and specialise in new development reporting.

I am happy to advise you on all aspects of property. So, if you are looking at your first buy-to-let (even if it is with another agency), or have trouble with a tenant, feel free to contact me. I offer honest and impartial advice.

Spencer Fortag

Some of you reading this will be old enough to remember the 1970s – the bell-bottom trousers, the huge collars, frayed jeans, disco glitter balls, maxi dresses, midi skirts but above everything else – HYPERINFLATION.

With inflation currently standing at 11.1%, many of us envy the last few years when we have been lucky to experience sub 2% inflation.

But in the 1970s, the UK had proper and persistent double-digit inflation for seven of the ten years of that decade.

The average annual UK inflation rate for the 1970s was 12.3% per year, with prices rising by 25% in 1975 alone.

The inflation was caused by several things, including oil prices quadrupling in the 1973 Oil Crisis (sounds familiar, doesn’t it?), powerful unions, a high level of growth and investment in the 1950s and 60s, meaning it was easier for the British economy to experience inflationary pressures in the 1970s and the property market then was not immune to these inflationary pressures.

The average Docklands house rose from £8,220 to £42,578 between the start of 1970 and the end of 1979.

That would be the equivalent of an average Docklands house going from today’s price of £512,837 to £2,656,059 in 2032.

The existing climate of rising prices (inflation) is affecting everyone, from filling up the car with petrol to doing the weekly ‘big shop’. Looking specifically at the buy-to-let market, Docklands landlords are suffering from rising costs and prices

like everyone else, including a substantial increase in labour price inflation as skill shortages have pushed up the cost of using all the trades.

Other worries include whether tenants can pay their rent with the cost-of-living crisis. Also, there is a rise in interest rates which increases landlords’ mortgage payments and professional fees, including accountants, and landlord insurance rates continue to climb.

So, is inflation all bad for Docklands landlords?

Most economists say that inflation is bad for the economy.

The absence of steady and stable prices makes consumers and businesses hold off making decisions to buy things, and when that happens, the economy stalls. Look at what happened in Germany in 1923, where you needed a carrier bag of cash to purchase a loaf of bread. Today, Zimbabwe has annual inflation of 269% a year, and Venezuela has 156% annual inflation, meaning their economies are on their uppers.

Thankfully, nobody is predicting British inflation will reach those levels.

Yet would it surprise you that inflation can be good news for landlords?

Property has grown above the rate of inflation over the last 50 years. It means that your hard-earned savings invested in property will increase in value over and above the inflation rate, which will safeguard your wealth during these periods of high inflation.

However, knowing where we are on the economic cycle makes it easy to spot when house prices are lower in the short term (in real terms), thus buying yourself long-term ‘extra’ profit.

The average Docklands property today is worth £512,837. Roll the clock back to the autumn of 2007, and it was £345,723.

Quite a gain (and no profit) until you look at inflation.

It appears people who bought in 2007 have made money when they have lost it in ‘real terms.

What do I mean by that? What exactly does ‘real terms’ mean?

Everyone knows that £100 today doesn’t buy what £100 could have bought you ten years ago and much less than 20 years ago ... that’s the effect of inflation.

‘Real terms’ means the price value after adjusting for inflation and expressed in constant Pound Sterling, reflecting buying power relative to another year. For example, the ‘actual’ price of a Mars bar in 2000 was 26p, yet its ‘real price’ (expressed in today’s prices) is 74p. Why 74p? Because 74p is what a Mars Bar costs today.

What price in the past has the same spending power today? So, looking at the £345,723 average price for a Docklands house in autumn 2007 (as mentioned above), one would need £575,903 today to buy the same amount of ‘retail goods and services (e.g. cars, food, Mars Bars, holidays etc.). i.e. that is what ‘real terms’ mean.

That means even without any house price falls (which many are predicting),

average house prices in Docklands are £63,066 cheaper in ‘real terms’ today than in 2007.

Calculation: £575,903 (autumn 2007 Docklands house price expressed in today’s spending power terms – i.e. in ‘real terms’ less £512,837 (today’s average actual house price in Docklands) equals £63,066).

The other significant advantage of inflation for landlords is buy-to-let mortgages. Most landlords use a buy-to-let mortgage to buy their Docklands property investment. Let me give you some scenarios which explain why this is the case.

Firstly, let’s assume there was no inflation (like in Japan in the last couple of decades). If a landlord took out an interest-only buy-to-let loan of £200,000 10 years ago, then in 10 years, that buy-to-let mortgage, which would need to be paid off, would still have a ‘real value’ of £200,000.

Secondly, let’s assume the same landlord took out an interestonly buy-to-let loan of £200,000 10 years ago (2012). In the last decade, there has been 31.4% inflation, so that buy-to-let mortgage would have a ‘real value’ of only £137,200.

Now inflation won’t be in double digits for the long term in the UK (higher interest rates and a recession will put pay to that), yet let’s say the inflation rate for the next ten years was 4% per annum.

In t is scenario t e real val e o t e yto-let ort a e alls to less t an al its ori inal real value of £91,278.

So, if one thinks about it, inflation could be just the thing that Docklands landlords need to shrink the ‘real value of their buyto-let mortgage. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.

On the back of double-digit percentages, growth rises in rents, and everything stated in this article, inflation could be the silver lining!

One place for more information is my Docklands Property Market blog. If you are a landlord or thinking of becoming one for the first time, and you want to read more articles like this about the Docklands property market together with regular postings on what I consider the best buy to let deals in the Docklands area, then it is well worth reading. You can also email via spencer@lmlondon.com

If you are in the area feel free to pop into the office which is based at Landmark Estates, 264 Westferry Road, London, E14 3AG

l The Dockland Settlements aims to provide support to local communities who live close to our centres in Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. l As a charity we provide sporting, social, recreational and educational activities as well as low cost playcare to help parents go back to work or remain in work. l The Calder’s Wharf centre opened its doors on the Isle of Dogs in January 2020. It hosts playcare services and its halls are home to a variety of activities for the community including sporting, social, recreational and educational activities. The centre also has a spa room which is used for massages and beauty related activities. Its halls are also available for hire.