Monday morning briefing 2025 11 03

And then it was November…..hello team, happy Monday. 

- A week after London proposed reducing the number of affordable homes in planning requirements, think tank Onward proposes creating Purpose Built Young Professional Accommodation as a new asset-class. 

- Berkeley Group have come under fire for proposing the reduction of affordable homes in their Aylesham Centre development in Peckham from 12% to 8%. The scheme has had some local pushback already as Rye Lane has gone through rapid gentrification in the past few years & the 877 home development across 16 towers is seen as not being developed with the needs for the local community in mind. 

The Albert Bridge concept image via BTR News.

- Players across the rental sector have cited the RentersRightsAct as the biggest overhaul to the market in decades & warned that it could trigger a period of chaos. For an excellent summary of the changes & challenges, see David Smith’s feed on LinkedIn including his piece in the FT Advisor. 

- Moda & Apache Capital have reached practical completion of the Hove Central scheme. The scheme includes BTR 564 apartment, extensive amenity space, as well as private homes & commercial space. 

The residents private cinema at Moda's Hove Central via HomeViews

- Oval Properties has secured planning permission for 800 new homes in Manchester in their Albert Bridge scheme. Designed by Studio Egret West, the scheme consists of two towers of 37 & 49 storeys as well as new landscaped public realm, retail space & pedestrian routes.

- Investor confidence in Manchester property is soaring. MCR Property Group’s new £250m partnership with Pollen Street Capital will fuel a major expansion & open the door to new opportunities across the UK market reports Place North West

- The British Property Federation is calling for the budget to include measures to support the property industry in general, & specifically regarding BTR viability, reports Urban Living News

- There was a slight increase in annual house price growth to 2.4% in October, according to Nationwide Building Society’s House Price Index.

- Valpre Capital & Katch Investment Group are partnering to launch a new joint venture platform, dedicated to delivering high-quality PBSA developments across the UK reports Joe Mellor in PBSA News.

- Europe-wide research shows home prices have increased by about 60% over the last 10 years. As did the cost of building homes in that period. The EU report said the residential construction sector had “never fully recovered” from the huge drop in home building after the global financial crash.

"Into that gap stepped institutional investors & property funds, who now play a much greater role in the housing market. While those institutional investors brought an injection of money into the sector, a lot of that went into building luxury apartments, student accommodation & co-living housing for young professionals." The result is policymakers are examining changes to allow governments to subsidise affordable housing developments reports The Irish Times