All Expert comment articles – Page 22
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InsightLondon ends rental drought
London rental levels have finally shaken off the curse of George Osborne, with agents now foreseeing residential rents in the capital rising faster than the rest of the country for the first time since the ex-chancellor’s 2015 Budget put the kibosh on the sector for close on seven years.
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Insight
Setting a course for regen success
Lasting improvements in behaviour and the built environment go hand in hand. They take a long time to complete, but the symbolic laying of foundation stones can announce in the near term a determined and deliberate commitment to follow a course to success.
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Insight
Get smarter on BTR amenities
This year marks a decade since the arrival of the UK’s first BTR home. The role of amenities and how they are perceived by renters has changed a lot during that period, while the industry’s response has been mixed. There is still room to get smarter.
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Information
Property must take the lead on improving biodiversity
Later this year, COP15 – the equivalent to COP26 but with a focus on improving biodiversity – will take place in China. Last year, in the lead-up to COP26, it was encouraging to see real estate companies pledge to achieve net zero by 2050.
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Online
How to make a neighbourhood plan that works for locals
It is approaching five years since St Ives Town Council in Cornwall introduced policy H2 as part of its Neighbourhood Plan to make housing more accessible to locals, restricting the sale of new-build homes by requiring buyers to prove it is their primary dwelling rather than a second home.
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Online
We need a more robust approach to bills-included student rents
All-inclusive rents have exploded in popularity in the student rental sector over the past few years, but rampant gas prices may lay waste to a trend born out of 2018’s Data Protection Act and 2019’s Tenant Fees Act.
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Online
The end of HiPPO hegemony on office location decisions
It was an author called Avinash Kaushik who first coined the term “HiPPO” in his book Web Analytics: An Hour a Day. It means the “highest paid person’s opinion”.
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Insight
The shackles are off for UK property
After the turbulence of the past two years, there is increasing optimism about the prospects for UK real estate in 2022. With high vaccination rates, lockdown restrictions easing and much of the workforce returning to work, the light at the end of the tunnel appears to be ever closer.
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Insight
Smart tech is key to a net zero future
Achieving net zero is everyone’s responsibility. For too long, the emphasis has been on individuals making small-scale lifestyle changes, or corporate responsibility placating consumers with sustainability soundbites.
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Insight
How to decarbonise efficiently
While the views concerning the success of COP26 in Glasgow were mixed, the conference certainly increased the visibility of the built environment as a major contributor to carbon emissions and consequently its role in decarbonising. And with visibility comes responsibility.
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Insight
Reading the ‘crisis’ smoke signals
These are difficult times for Britons: a nation still divided over Brexit, polarised views over whether to lock down or to be free, a truly appalling UK government with little to commend the performances of the devolved nations in truth, busted public finances – should they be rectified by taxation ...
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Insight
Will China slowdown affect the UK?
China is home to 1.4 billion people, a major producer and consumer of goods and commodities and a leading engine of global economic growth. Clearly, what happens in mainland China matters.
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Online
A bright year ahead for UK property investors
Making predictions is hard and this year is no exception. Concerns around escalating geopolitical tensions and inflation loom large in the background, the latter driven by unprecedented growth in the money supply during the Covid pandemic.
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Insight
Settlers Court judgment is a boon for landlords
The Supreme Court has given a ground-breaking judgment in the Settlers Court case [FirstPort Property Services Ltd v Settlers Court RTM Company Ltd & ORS [2022] UKC1 (Settlers Court) 12 January 2022], an appeal on the extent of the statutory right to manage a residential building under the Commonhold and ...
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Insight
Grant-funded heritage projects are heading towards no-man’s land
The effects of Covid-19 and Brexit on the property industry’s ability to complete projects are well-documented. Material and labour shortages have seen major developers face myriad challenges that are not expected to go away anytime soon.
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Online
Developers need apprentices more than they realise
With National Apprenticeship Week (7-13 February) fast approaching, it is time for the property industry to re-evaluate its attitude towards skills and employment.
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Online
The future is bright for dark kitchens
Since the pandemic, one of the biggest changes we have seen in the industrial commercial property market is the rise of dark kitchens.
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Online
Short-term rental sector faces challenges
With a rise in alternative accommodation being sought by renters in place of traditional-style hotel rooms, short-term lettings such as those offered by Airbnb have become a booming business, giving property owners far more flexibility on how they rent their property.
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Insight
Social value is key to the future of work
Creating offices is easy. You need a building, good architects and designers and the right range of office furniture. Creating ecosystems, however, is an entirely different challenge.
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Insight
Evidence of levelling up is scarce
Well, all I can say is that it’s good to be back. After 22 years away – in Edinburgh, briefly Johannesburg and more substantially London – I moved home to Newcastle in the summer. A pandemic cliché? I am also investigating buying a puppy, which is more complicated than I ...
