The Chinese Year of the Dragon will roar into Westminster this Sunday (29th) with a parade and festival showcasing the best of Chinese culture.
The festivities will start at 10:00am on Sunday 29 January 2012 with a New Year parade around London's West End, reaching its final destination of Trafalgar Square at noon.
The Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr Susie Burbridge, will then join Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Chinese Ambassador to London, Mr Liu Xiaoming, to speak at the opening ceremony of the festival.
After the speeches, celebrations will kick off with traditional dragon dancing, music and performances on the Trafalgar Square stage until 6pm.
A second stage in Shaftesbury Avenue will host performances from a range of local community groups and schools.
The capital's famous Chinatown will also play host to a parade by lion dancers as well as a range of stalls selling traditional produce throughout the day.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Friday, 13 January 2012
London Property Millionaires
This year has seen the number of property millionaires rise by 26,744.
According to online valuation service Zoopla.co.uk, luxury properties have continued to rise in value and there are now more people owning homes worth £1 million or more than ever.
The rise means that effectively 73 new property millionaires have been created each day in 2011.
In total there are now 253,118 homes valued at more than £1 million in the UK and the largest rise property millionaires came in London, where the number grew by 18 per cent over the past 12 months.
London is also where nine of the top ten millionaire districts in Britain are located. Kensington has the highest proportion with 56 per cent of all homes being worth more than £1 million.
Nick Leeming of Zoopla.co.uk said: "This data shows clearly how differently the top end of the market is performing from mainstream Britain."
The Knight Frank Prime London Sales Index showed that prime London property rose in value by 13 per cent in 2011.
London Property Market News
According to online valuation service Zoopla.co.uk, luxury properties have continued to rise in value and there are now more people owning homes worth £1 million or more than ever.
The rise means that effectively 73 new property millionaires have been created each day in 2011.
In total there are now 253,118 homes valued at more than £1 million in the UK and the largest rise property millionaires came in London, where the number grew by 18 per cent over the past 12 months.
London is also where nine of the top ten millionaire districts in Britain are located. Kensington has the highest proportion with 56 per cent of all homes being worth more than £1 million.
Nick Leeming of Zoopla.co.uk said: "This data shows clearly how differently the top end of the market is performing from mainstream Britain."
The Knight Frank Prime London Sales Index showed that prime London property rose in value by 13 per cent in 2011.
London Property Market News
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Land Registry Report London Property Prices Will See Modest Growth
Prime property for sale in London will see modest growth over the next year, as predictions show that the value of houses in the capital will continue to edge up, defying the economic crisis once again.
At the end of December, the Land Registry reported that prices for London property had risen again in November. It also said that the only region in the whole of England and Wales which had seen a rise in property prices over the whole of 2011 was London, with an increase of 1.4 per cent.
Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, said that this trend was most likely to increase slightly in 2012, as property will see a further modest level of growth throughout thw next 12 months.
"We are forecasting in prime central London that we will actually see some very modest growth in the market. That is largely on the back of a continuation of overseas wealth coming into those markets," he noted.
At the end of December, the Land Registry reported that prices for London property had risen again in November. It also said that the only region in the whole of England and Wales which had seen a rise in property prices over the whole of 2011 was London, with an increase of 1.4 per cent.
Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, said that this trend was most likely to increase slightly in 2012, as property will see a further modest level of growth throughout thw next 12 months.
"We are forecasting in prime central London that we will actually see some very modest growth in the market. That is largely on the back of a continuation of overseas wealth coming into those markets," he noted.
Friday, 30 December 2011
Top Property Investments in 2012
International Business Times reports;
A survey of more than 360 internationally renowned real estate professionals, including investors, developers, property company representatives, lenders, brokers and consultants has revealed the emerging top earners for the real estate sector in 2012.
Residential real estate is the second top investment for the year 2012 across the Asia Pacific Region, the study revealed.
It said that in spite the weak global housing market this year better prospects are to be seen in 2012, although caution and planning are still the keys to success.
Apartments. Interviewees favoured investing in multifamily property development, which can be class A, value-enhance class B, develop from scratch, purchase in infill areas, acquire in gateway cities, or hold in lower-growth markets. "Even buy class C and upgrade, spend a little more, hold a little longer-demand will be there."
The only caveat: avoid severely affected housing markets where a surfeit of empty single-family homes will compete as rentals.
Fortress Malls, Infill Shopping Centres. Aptly named fortress malls, near upscale suburban neighbourhoods and strategic highway intersections, continue to concentrate the top brand chains and attract more shoppers away from their weakening competition-centres situated near older or more commodity class housing districts. These types of property development attract necessity shoppers to anchored centres with leading supermarket and drug store chains. Investors are in for steady cash flows.
Coastal Port Industrial Space. Global trade will power export activity around the nation's primary seaboard ports, where traditional big-box warehouse distribution assets rebound after experiencing uncomfortably high vacancies. All eyes focus on which East Coast cities can position themselves to capture Pacific container-ship traffic slated to come through a widened Panama Canal in 2014. Some winners will turn into new industrial hubs, but first need to dredge harbor channels to handle deep-hulled vessels. Miami, Charleston, Savannah, and Norfolk look like prime contenders, and New York/New Jersey will not be left out. Houston should pick up business along the Gulf Coast.
Business Center Hotels. ULI and PwC said that 2012 will be within that the point in the real estate market cycle where lodging makes sense. But only the major 24-hour cities attract consistently strong combinations of business and tourist travelers to sustain occupancies and advance room rates during the week, as well as into weekends. Middle-market hotels without food and beverage service lure budget-conscious travelers without outsized operation overheads, enhancing bottom-line results.
A survey of more than 360 internationally renowned real estate professionals, including investors, developers, property company representatives, lenders, brokers and consultants has revealed the emerging top earners for the real estate sector in 2012.
Residential real estate is the second top investment for the year 2012 across the Asia Pacific Region, the study revealed.
It said that in spite the weak global housing market this year better prospects are to be seen in 2012, although caution and planning are still the keys to success.
Apartments. Interviewees favoured investing in multifamily property development, which can be class A, value-enhance class B, develop from scratch, purchase in infill areas, acquire in gateway cities, or hold in lower-growth markets. "Even buy class C and upgrade, spend a little more, hold a little longer-demand will be there."
The only caveat: avoid severely affected housing markets where a surfeit of empty single-family homes will compete as rentals.
Fortress Malls, Infill Shopping Centres. Aptly named fortress malls, near upscale suburban neighbourhoods and strategic highway intersections, continue to concentrate the top brand chains and attract more shoppers away from their weakening competition-centres situated near older or more commodity class housing districts. These types of property development attract necessity shoppers to anchored centres with leading supermarket and drug store chains. Investors are in for steady cash flows.
Coastal Port Industrial Space. Global trade will power export activity around the nation's primary seaboard ports, where traditional big-box warehouse distribution assets rebound after experiencing uncomfortably high vacancies. All eyes focus on which East Coast cities can position themselves to capture Pacific container-ship traffic slated to come through a widened Panama Canal in 2014. Some winners will turn into new industrial hubs, but first need to dredge harbor channels to handle deep-hulled vessels. Miami, Charleston, Savannah, and Norfolk look like prime contenders, and New York/New Jersey will not be left out. Houston should pick up business along the Gulf Coast.
Business Center Hotels. ULI and PwC said that 2012 will be within that the point in the real estate market cycle where lodging makes sense. But only the major 24-hour cities attract consistently strong combinations of business and tourist travelers to sustain occupancies and advance room rates during the week, as well as into weekends. Middle-market hotels without food and beverage service lure budget-conscious travelers without outsized operation overheads, enhancing bottom-line results.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
UK Property Seen as Less Volatile Than Stocks and Shares
Lofty apartments in London's prime boroughs, chic chalet's in the finest Alpine ski resorts of France and Switzerland, and 2 bed semi's in Salford. Spot the odd one out?
While there may be many reasons making the 2 bed semis in Salford the odd one out, investment potential is not one of them according to British institutional investors, who have invested heavily in British housing stock in the last 12-18 months, to capitalise on the current rental boom, and solidify their investments away from the tumultuous global stocks and bonds markets.
According to data just released by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, financial institutions invested £2.2 billion in UK houses and apartments in the year ending April 2011, a 189% increase over the previous year.
Specialist property companies also increased their exposure to UK buy to let during the period, the data shows that such firms purchased £7.5bn worth of UK rental properties, which is a 27 percent increase over the same period in 2010. Wealthy British individuals are also getting in on the action. They invested a combined £193.8 billion in the year ending April, which is surprisingly only a 24% increase over 2010.
The growth is hardly surprising. The financial world is a scary place, and the stock markets are even scarier. The Eurozone debt crisis is making any European investment a high risk strategy, especially now with some reports indicating that banks are putting in place contingency plans for the Eurozone's complete break-up, although few believe this will come to pass.
Never the less, this makes British property one of the few safe investments in Europe. Property is far less volatile than stocks, and of course, Britain stayed out of the euro, so, while it would suffer a shock if the Euro collapses, its property market will see a far smaller hit than those in the Eurozone.
On top of the long term safety of British property, the rental yields are currently very attractive in the short-mid term as well, with the constrained mortgage market, lack of affordability and housing shortage continually drive up rental demand. The latest data rents and yields are growing across the country. The latest Residential Lettings Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that 15% more chartered surveyors reported rental yields rose rather than fell in the three months ending October. This is the 7th consecutive quarter of rising yields according to RICS.
Friday, 16 December 2011
Westminster Winter Events
As temperatures drop and the holiday season is upon us, the City of Westminster is set to be transformed into a festive landscape of entertainment, music, and exclusive shopping experiences to see you through the colder months. Check out our calendar of free and budget events:
Music and caroling:
Festive shopping to gospel tunes
Where: St. Martin's Courtyard, near Covent Garden
When: Thursday 15th December, 5-7pm
What to expect: Free roasted chestnuts and warm Pimm's whilst listening to the London Community Gospel Choir.
Christmas Carols by Candlelight
Where: St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JH
When: Thursday 15th December, 7.30pm
What to expect: Christmas carols by candlelight with the Vivamus Choir.
Shopping:
Christmas food market and reindeer
Where: Covent Garden
When: Saturdays, 12 noon - 5pm
What to expect: Make friends with reindeer and visit a festive Christmas food market.
Entertainment:
London theatre - Top shows from £10
Where: All over Theatreland
When:Sunday 1st January to Friday 10th February – booking open now!
What to expect: More than 50 shows are taking part including Les Miserables, Singin’ In The Rain, The Wizard of Oz, The Ladykillers, Noises Off, The Gruffalo, The Snowman, Matthew Bourne’s The Nutcracker and Tosca at the London Coliseum.
Ice skating
Where: Somerset House, Aldwych South
When: Daily from 10am to 10.30pm
What to expect: Skate on one of London's most atmospheric rinks. Free storytelling sessions for little ones by the Christmas tree. From £7.50 plus booking fee.
For little ones:
Children’s Christmas crafts and stories
Where: Maida Vale Library, Sutherland Avenue, London W9 2QT
When: Wednesday 21st December, 2.30-4pm
What to expect: Christmas stories for Westminster’s little residents, crafts and the opportunity to make your own tree decorations and greeting cards. Age: 5+
Puppet workshop
Where: Education Centre Foyer, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN
When: 29th December, 11am-1pm and 2-4pm
What to expect: Join in and learn how to make shadow puppets, make your own and take it home!
New Year’s Eve:
New Years Eve Fireworks Display
Where: Best views to be had from Victoria Embankment!
When: Saturday 31st December, midnight
What to expect: Ring in the year of the London Olympics in style.
New Year's Day Parade and festival
Where: The Parade starts on Piccadilly outside The Ritz hotel. It then goes to Piccadilly Circus, Lower Regent St, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Street.
When: 1st January 2012, 11.45am to 3pm
What to expect: The first official event of London's Olympic year has an Olympic and Diamond Jubilee theme. Watch 10,000 performers from 20 countries plus marching bands, acrobats, cheerleaders and much more.
Westminster Council
Music and caroling:
Festive shopping to gospel tunes
Where: St. Martin's Courtyard, near Covent Garden
When: Thursday 15th December, 5-7pm
What to expect: Free roasted chestnuts and warm Pimm's whilst listening to the London Community Gospel Choir.
Christmas Carols by Candlelight
Where: St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JH
When: Thursday 15th December, 7.30pm
What to expect: Christmas carols by candlelight with the Vivamus Choir.
Shopping:
Christmas food market and reindeer
Where: Covent Garden
When: Saturdays, 12 noon - 5pm
What to expect: Make friends with reindeer and visit a festive Christmas food market.
Entertainment:
London theatre - Top shows from £10
Where: All over Theatreland
When:Sunday 1st January to Friday 10th February – booking open now!
What to expect: More than 50 shows are taking part including Les Miserables, Singin’ In The Rain, The Wizard of Oz, The Ladykillers, Noises Off, The Gruffalo, The Snowman, Matthew Bourne’s The Nutcracker and Tosca at the London Coliseum.
Ice skating
Where: Somerset House, Aldwych South
When: Daily from 10am to 10.30pm
What to expect: Skate on one of London's most atmospheric rinks. Free storytelling sessions for little ones by the Christmas tree. From £7.50 plus booking fee.
For little ones:
Children’s Christmas crafts and stories
Where: Maida Vale Library, Sutherland Avenue, London W9 2QT
When: Wednesday 21st December, 2.30-4pm
What to expect: Christmas stories for Westminster’s little residents, crafts and the opportunity to make your own tree decorations and greeting cards. Age: 5+
Puppet workshop
Where: Education Centre Foyer, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN
When: 29th December, 11am-1pm and 2-4pm
What to expect: Join in and learn how to make shadow puppets, make your own and take it home!
New Year’s Eve:
New Years Eve Fireworks Display
Where: Best views to be had from Victoria Embankment!
When: Saturday 31st December, midnight
What to expect: Ring in the year of the London Olympics in style.
New Year's Day Parade and festival
Where: The Parade starts on Piccadilly outside The Ritz hotel. It then goes to Piccadilly Circus, Lower Regent St, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Street.
When: 1st January 2012, 11.45am to 3pm
What to expect: The first official event of London's Olympic year has an Olympic and Diamond Jubilee theme. Watch 10,000 performers from 20 countries plus marching bands, acrobats, cheerleaders and much more.
Westminster Council
Thursday, 8 December 2011
West End Secure Parking For Night Workers
Westminster City Council’s parking team have been listening to the concerns of night workers and is pleased to announce a deal from Q-Park to make safe and secure parking available in the West End for only £2 per hour from 6.30pm to 7am and all night between these hours for £8.
There are currently 1000 spaces in the West End available in Q-Park’s central west end car parks every night, and a key part of Westminster’s forthcoming parking policy changes is to move traffic off the streets, easing congestion and helping traffic flow.
The goal is to ensure that Westminster remains a clean, safe and vibrant place to live.
Cllr Lee Rowley, cabinet member for transport and parking, said: “London is a global 24-hour city and is as busy at 10pm as it is at 10am. Having safe, secure and affordable parking for everyone is a key element in changing our parking policies.
“Using casino workers as an example of the night workers we have been keen to engage with, they can get to a safe car park within a five minute walk of work and, if parked all night, they could do so for 64p an hour.
“The council has worked hard in ensuring initiatives like this go ahead and we will continue to listen to the needs of residents and businesses as the changes come in.”
After working with Westminster City Council, Q-Park will be introducing new reduced parking tariffs on 9th January 2012 where evening visitors and workers in the West End can park for only £2 per hour from 6.30pm to 7am and all night between these hours for just £8 in Q-Park car parks at Soho, Oxford Street and Trafalgar Sq. This works out at 64p per hour for a whole night’s parking.
The company is also set to announce further discounts on Sundays for church goers.
New controls in Zone E and G begin on January 9, 2012 and include parking controls being introduced in the evenings from 6.30pm until midnight and on Sundays from 1pm until 6pm.
Click here for more details
There are currently 1000 spaces in the West End available in Q-Park’s central west end car parks every night, and a key part of Westminster’s forthcoming parking policy changes is to move traffic off the streets, easing congestion and helping traffic flow.
The goal is to ensure that Westminster remains a clean, safe and vibrant place to live.
Cllr Lee Rowley, cabinet member for transport and parking, said: “London is a global 24-hour city and is as busy at 10pm as it is at 10am. Having safe, secure and affordable parking for everyone is a key element in changing our parking policies.
“Using casino workers as an example of the night workers we have been keen to engage with, they can get to a safe car park within a five minute walk of work and, if parked all night, they could do so for 64p an hour.
“The council has worked hard in ensuring initiatives like this go ahead and we will continue to listen to the needs of residents and businesses as the changes come in.”
After working with Westminster City Council, Q-Park will be introducing new reduced parking tariffs on 9th January 2012 where evening visitors and workers in the West End can park for only £2 per hour from 6.30pm to 7am and all night between these hours for just £8 in Q-Park car parks at Soho, Oxford Street and Trafalgar Sq. This works out at 64p per hour for a whole night’s parking.
The company is also set to announce further discounts on Sundays for church goers.
New controls in Zone E and G begin on January 9, 2012 and include parking controls being introduced in the evenings from 6.30pm until midnight and on Sundays from 1pm until 6pm.
Click here for more details
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)