All Expert comment articles – Page 23
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InsightSmart homes are nothing new
“Discover Britain’s original smart home.” So goes the sell for Victorian mansion Cragside, originally home to the renowned engineer William Armstrong.
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InsightTech can help residents go green
Combine a climate crisis with a cost-of-living crisis and you have a never-before-seen imperative for householders to reduce energy wastage – and a once-in-a-generation opportunity for building managers to make real inroads on ESG performance.
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InsightTime to keep calm and carry on
“When you’re feeling in the dumps/Don’t be silly chumps/Just purse your lips and whistle, that’s the thing, and…/Always Look on the bright side of life.”
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InsightChanging our cities for the better
Listen out: the 15-minute city is coming to a neighbourhood near you. We’ve all heard the term flying around, but what are the benefits and how does it look in practice?
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NewsLook to the past to ride out uncertain times
Since the beginning of September, the UK has gone through a series of rather unsettling events, touching various aspects of our private and professional lives.
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InsightWill Investment Zones bring growth to save the economy?
Investment Zones are one of a series of growth measures set out in the government’s Growth Strategy. This is a laudable objective; however, there is a lack of detail on how they will work and the practical measures to deliver an acceleration of jobs and homes.
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InsightOnly a holistic view of sustainability can tackle sprawling urbanisation and blind densification
We are facing a snowballing problem in our city centres. They are still relatively lacking in residential real estate – which is not surprising, given that development in urban areas involves more risk and complexities than in suburban, out-of-town locations – and this is giving rise to sprawling ‘(sub)urbanisation’.
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InsightA meltdown is wide of the mark
“What do you think of Sterling’s performance yesterday?” I asked a neighbour a day after the mini-Budget. “Dreadful,” he answered. “He just couldn’t get the ball across to Kane.” No, I clarified: “The pound versus the US dollar, not Raheem versus the Italian defence.”
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InsightTories must tackle housing deficit
As Michael Heseltine, a key architect of many of the housing and regeneration policies pursued by the Conservatives over the past 40 years, once put it: “Home ownership stimulates the attitudes of independence and self-reliance that are the bedrock of a free society.”
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Insight‘Universal building’ key to future
Much has been said about future-proofing our cities. How do we do it? One solution is the concept of the universal building – one that, when designed properly upfront, can regenerate over time, adapting to the needs of today as well as the unforeseen needs of tomorrow.
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InsightPeople are at the heart of BTR
In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis with inflation and interest rates rising and energy prices hitting record highs, housebuying will likely now be an even bigger barrier for many, and with people renting for longer, landlords need to demonstrate good value through the quality of product and service delivery.
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InsightWorking together for better digs
The reign of her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, saw enormous change in all areas of society, but perhaps none more so than in higher education.
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OnlineWhat does lenders’ liquidity squeeze mean for investors?
Earlier this year an industry survey reported that only 48% of the specialist lending market thought their cost of origination was likely to increase over the year.
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InsightShining a spotlight on equality, diversity and inclusion in the build to rent sector
When better to shine a spotlight on equality, diversity and inclusion than during National Inclusion Week? Now in its 10th year, National Inclusion Week celebrates inclusion and encourages employers to take action to create inclusive workplaces.
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InsightData downplays New York’s office return
One subject above all others obsesses the New York City property world: the extent and future of office return, now that the pandemic appears over.
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InsightUncertainty brings opportunity
As we move from a climate crisis in July and an energy crisis in August to an exchange rate crisis in September, there is little wonder that many commentators are predicting catastrophe over the next 12 months. But as we know from the past nine months, a lot can change ...
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InsightThe return of bricks and mortar
Gymshark’s upcoming opening of its first IRL (or ‘in real life’) store on Regent Street is another reminder of the enduring popularity of in-person retail.
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InsightIt's crunch time for affordable PRS
Almost daily media updates add to the growing sense that the cost-of-living crisis is becoming a national emergency, with reporting mostly highlighting spiralling energy costs and the impact of soaring inflation on necessities.
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InsightThe ideal city is not a numbers game
I was recently reacquainting myself with an intriguing painting in the Ducal Palace in Urbino, entitled the Ideal City (late 15th century, artist unknown but possibly Piero della Francesca).
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InsightBetter – not bigger – data is key to unlocking SFR
Single-family rentals (SFRs) are undoubtedly the new darling of residential investment. While build-to-rent strategies are taking off in both the UK and the US, soaring construction costs are driving investor interest towards existing stock.
