Andrew Dismore

During questions  on the Mayor’s draft Housing Strategy Andrew Dismore, Labour London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, challenged Mayor Boris Johnson on his inaction over the extent to which foreign  speculators are buying up homes in London, forcing up prices and depriving Londoners of the opportunity of having their own home.

Mr Dismore told the Mayor:

“On your visit to Nice last month you asked property developers to sign your voluntary concordat to market new homes to Londoners at the same time as to overseas buyers. As it is voluntary and as it allows marketing at the same time, it’s a fig leaf and not worth the paper it’s printed on is it?

Knight Frank  have said 49% of central London new build went to overseas buyers over the last 2 years. In your draft strategy you say: “they {foreign investors} have a greater propensity to purchase off-plan”. A foreign speculator can buy now a home that won’t be built for several years let alone lived in, secure in the knowledge that house price inflation will  give an 18% return on  their cash; whilst  a young Londoner just cannot  compete on equal terms with a foreigner with plenty of ready cash to spend , as the Londoner  needs to pay out the high rent for their current home now, and can’t at the same time  find the money for the  high upfront cost for an off plan home they won’t see finished for years. So marketing at the same time is not good enough, is it?”

The Mayor agreed that there was a problem with off plan sales discriminating against Londoners, but had no answer to that problem.

 

After the debate, Mr Dismore added:

“There are many issues with the Mayor’s Housing Strategy and this is just one. We are seeing developers throughout London offering their schemes for sale off plan to overseas buyers: last month I pointed out to the Mayor this was happening in his Colindale “Opportunity Area”, with Beaufort Park and the Pulse both trying to attract overseas buyers. The “Opportunity” is not for local people in housing need but for foreign speculators.

A newly appointed NHS hospital consultant’s salary is about £75,000 according to the BMA. To rent a two bed flat in Camden needs a pre tax salary of £83,500, a three bed home £111,000. If consultants can’t afford to live near Great Ormond St or UCLH, what chance have nurses, care assistants or hospital porters?  His  comments in Nice, that the mayor  wants people to able to live near where they work were gratuitous rhetoric rather than reality, due to his  failure to get to grips with London’s  overheated housing market, in large part  down to foreign   speculation.”