Following Labour’s landslide election victory earlier this month, we break down what the election of Labour means for first time buyers and whether there is reason for hope over the next four years.
Read MoreCategory: Topical commentary
Preparing for First Homes: Long term thinking is needed to make sure these homes help the people who need them most
A blog by Thomasin Renshaw, Development Director
When the Government announced the First Homes policy, Pocket Living welcomed the ambition. The premise of the policy is identical to what we have been doing for years, namely opening up homeownership to young middle earners by selling at a discount.
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Will mortgage rates go up or down?
Will mortgage rates go down in 2021? We’ve been hearing a lot about mortgage rates trends in light of the Brexit trade deal and coronavirus, so we thought we’d unpack this a bit for all you first time buyers who may be thinking about buying your first home in the coming months.
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Not so vibrant London
At Pocket we love London. We love it’s vibrancy. That’s why it’s so disappointing to see report after report warning the capital that, the people that make it such an exciting place to live, want to leave.
“Londoners are almost unanimous in their belief that London ranks worse than elsewhere on both the affordability and the availability of housing. For the average London resident, housing affordability and housing availability are the indicators on which London performs worst.”
This is a direct quote from the Vibrant Capital report by Grant Thornton.
The urban commentator and Harvard lecturer Ed Glaeser has commented that the continued success of cities relies on a simple equation, that the cultural and commercial richness of the city must benefit inhabitants more than the downside of living in close proximity and sharing so much with others. The Grant Thornton report shows that amongst all groups researched, valued the cultural and leisure benefits of living in London alongside it’s diversity and benefits to pay and career. For too many however, these benefits are outweighed by the challenges of finding affordable and secure housing that meets their needs.
As a city, we have to move faster to help these largely young aspiring Londoners resolve their housing issues. At Pocket, we hear the stories from this audience constantly. They have been frustrated by the housing situation that they find themselves in and can’t see any way out of it. The cost of living swallows up their incomes so significantly that the prospect of ever owning a home is a distant dream. Furthermore, these costs deny them access to so much of the culture and fun that the city should provide. The equation that Ed Glaeser talks of, no longer makes sense and for a highly mobile workforce, who have never seen their career as a single “job for life”, leaving the Capital is increasingly the only answer.
From factory floor to finished flat
Making a difference with modular construction
One of Pocket’s modular schemes in north Lambeth, Sail Street SE11
A First-Time Buyers’ guide to the London elections
Tomorrow London goes to the polls to elect a new Mayor of London. The Mayor is responsible for making London a great place to live, work and visit. For example the Mayor is responsible for things such as policing, transport and the fire service. But significantly for first time buyers, the Mayor has important housing powers. The Mayor must produce a housing strategy to invest in London’s housing and to meet the needs of London’s growing population.
Buying a home in your local area – the tale of Thomas Golden
Become a homeowner in the area where you grew up – Pocket makes it happen!
The idea of buying a home where you grew up seems a bit of a pipe-dream – pie in the sky even! And so it may be for many Londoners, but Pocket is trying hard to make it possible for as many city makers as possible to own a home in their local area.
We are very proud to introduce Thomas Golden. You may have already spotted him in the Metro this morning, his is one of the buyers of Pocket’s compact homes in Oak Grove NW2.
Thomas and his mum on handover day.
Help for Help to Buy!
Helping to make Help to Buy helpful
Help! The government has its heart in the right place, trying to ‘help’ first time buyers with its Help to Buy schemes… and as of today a new one has launched, the Help to Buy ISA. It can all feel very confusing – we’re not promising to ‘deconfuse’ things completely, but here is a brief summary of how Help to Buy works with Pocket, and links to some nice clear explanations.
JLL Innovators Research : Pocket
Like marriage, the secret to a successful first time home purchase is compromise.
In what has become a supply-starved London housing market effected by rapidly rising prices, Pocket have built their model around the one facet that first time buyers are not willing to compromise on – location.
The London-based developer prioritises location over size allowing it to deliver first-time buyer homes in good commuting locations at a minimum of 20% below the open market rate capped at the current top price of £260,000.
“Pocket brings a rational approach together with the sort of design flair that makes spaces feel generous and desirable. As the current crisis forces new thinking, Pocket’s initiatives provide a positive example to other housing providers when new ideas are thin on the ground.” Peter Murray, New London Architecture
How to help London stay successful – a snapshot of Ed Glaeser’s recent visit to our city
By Lucian Smithers, Director of Sales and Marketing, Pocket
At Pocket we have all read ‘The Triumph of the City’ by Ed Glaeser. Glaeser’s views about what makes cities great and how they can remain successful give heavyweight academic substance to Pocket’s belief in delivering starter homes for London’s city makers – you could even say we’re groupies.
So you can imagine our excitement at the prospect of hearing him talk in the UK last month at Warwick Business school’s outpost in the Shard. He was also interviewed in the Guardian, and even better, he popped in to visit Pocket and hear more about our philosophy and business model – we think he liked it!
Glaeser’s work focuses on the power of successful cities. Note the word “successful.” His studies cover huge geographical and historical distances to find the lessons about how great cities have managed to thrive and in some cases come back from the brink. And his visit to London meant he gave some thought to the similarities, and differences, between the UK and our friends across the Atlantic. He pulls out the simplest observations from a huge set of data and experiences, and here are some of the nuggets of genius that we took away for London: Read More