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Tuesday 24^th February 2015, property media watch:

Today’s local stories in the property world:

Seven Capital to build £150m of new city homes –

Birmingham Post

“Up to 700 new homes are to be built in Birmingham city centre with major plans for four new developments. City firm Seven Capital is behind proposals which will add £150 million of housing to the city centre stock, with work set to start within months if approved. More than 300 homes will be created at a new urban village in the Jewellery Quarter, while across town three apartment blocks are set to be built – Landsdowne House at Five Ways Island, another off Broad Street called Granville Lofts and Ridley House close to The Cube.”

Housing minister proposes new measures to speed up house building –

Property reporter

“Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has proposed new measures to speed up the planning system and provide new homes more quickly. So-called “section 106” agreements, which attach conditions on a planning permission being granted, can often lead to extended negotiations that delay the planning application process. The Housing and Planning Minister is seeking views on plans to speed up the process, getting planning permission agreed and workers on site more quickly.”

Remortgages up 24% since December –

Property reporter

“Applications for remortgages have risen by almost a quarter since December and 17% year-on-year as the benefits of switching outstrip wage growth. New data from the Mortgage Advice Bureau has highlighted that following months of sluggish activity, the remortgage market experienced a long-awaited boost in January. This beats an annual rise of 12% in purchase applications as existing homeowners take advantage of the growing equity in their homes and record-low mortgage prices. The latter mean switching can effectively deliver a pay rise of up to 4.8%: twice the rate of annual wage growth.”

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The stories above are from various media sources, they do not necessarily reflect the views of James Laurence Sales and Lettings.