thirty million pounds of public funded money originally earmarked to improve the roads in the east of England has now been diverted into a housing fund for the area.

Tory Counsellor John Reynolds has written to the government outlining his concerns over the scheme which he says is misguided.

Mr Reynolds believed the money would be better spent on roads, hospitals and new schools for the region and is fearful the the region could lose more than it gains from the scheme.

he was quoted as saying

“The government is in danger of promoting housing growth without adequate transport links, employment opportunities and social infrastructure”

The scheme is projected to produce 200,00 new homes, and 10,000 private sector homes over the  next two years.

The boom of the inner city flat has taken off over the last ten years but sales are drying up, in my last blog i looked at  a conmpany, in  this blog i intend to look at the overview of the situation and try to bring some conclusions from the latest crisis that faces the property market, thousands of brand new inner city flats, yet no one lives in them.

Firstly there is the cost point, flats in Manchester are reported to have been over valued to the tune of 450 million pounds.  yes 450 million, and that’s according to a report by the Manchester evening news.  Flats in The exclusive Hilton or Beetham tower in Manchester city centre are being advertised at cut rate prices, somthing no one saw coming.  – Is the tower going to be a symbol of manchester for the wrong reasons you have to ask?

Then there is the question of facilities for specific groups of people who may want to move to the centre of a city Families with children are quickly reaslising the lack of play areas and school uin the city centre makes it nigh on impossible to move there. Then you have the young proffesionals, the ones hardest hit when it comes to buying a new property. But then why would an elderly couple want to live in a loud modern city? none of the groups fit the bill anymore

andtherfore the numbers of inner city flats that remain empty is increasing. The market will recover, but at the moment its like asking how long is a peice of string?

The Manchester based urban splash residential Development Company requested advice on a reduction in its workforce from the government just before Christmas. Blaming the current economic climate the company drastically cut its satellite workforce in the south of the country.
The company based in Manchester and set up by a young entrepreneur, is set on producing modern and affordable housing around the country.
It’s responsible for a number of high profile city based projects and was one of the boom success stories of the new millennium. Set up in 1993 by a recently graduated history student, an architect an interior designer and a chartered surveyor got together and decided that they wanted to breathe new life into the old factories that surrounded them, in Manchester and Liverpool
The problems were faced they say not by their own financial situation but that of their customers, the young professionals they target were finding it increasingly harder to find funding to allow them to buy a new property, The workforce was cut at the end of 2008, so how are the company doing now?
Well they have projects running all over the country again, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, West Midlands, the list goes on, let’s hope that this firm are finding their feet again and the economic climate is changing for the better.

…Although its still not yet finished!

Construction of this monstrous building began back in 2004, when a wealthy Arab with more money than anyone could reasonably expect to spend in five lifetimes decided that the skyscrapers adorning the Dubai skyline needed a little shade. So he set out to build the biggest man made structure ever constructed.

Setting aside roughly 4.1 billion dollars aside for the project the mission to make the biggest building in the world was achieved in September 2008 when it tipped the measuring stick at a whopping 688m.

The building has only just reached its maximum height of 818m ansd is destined to be ready for occupancybefore the end of this year.

If you feel like splasing out on some new offices and fancy somewhere hot with an impressive view, then perhaps the price tag might make you think again in a time of economic down turn the the prime real estate is reported to be selling at around $3,500 PER SQUARE FOOT. or $37,500 per square meter, a pinch i think you’ll agree.

And so you can look intelligent next time you hit your local pub here are some interesting facts about the Burj:

As the air conditioning inside the building works water will condense on the ouitside of the building, this will be collected to water the plants and greenery inside the building!
The Burj observation deck is 442 meters above the ground and will be the highest point any huiman can stand in the world hilst still being attached to the ground.
It will feature 15000 square feet of fitness space.
Oh and its going to have its own Cigar club. so much for the smoking ban in Dubia.

The Sale hotel is An iconic peice of architecture based in Sale in cheshire, south of Manchester. It used to be the focal point part of a grand garden that included ornate gardens, a dove cottage, cycling track, Running Track and a Bowls Green.

The gardens have since been split and are now still preserved as walkden gardens just across the main raod from the sale hotel.

A request for demolition naming the proposer as a Mr J Clarke, has been submitted to Sale Town hall and has illicited an angry response from a wide cross section of the community. The proposal does not disclose what would be built in place of the current building but its likely to be blocks of flats, prime real estate in an ever more popular location to live.

Its a shame, the Sale Hotel is a good looking building, and has been a focal point for the community for many years, its actually been my own local pub, and was the first place i bought a legal drink.

A shame to see uit go, but then all buildings have to be pulled down at some point.

The housing market is nothing but consistent at the moment with a report brought out in may that shows a consistent drop of 12.5% in housing prices year on year.
Scotland was the least badly hit of the British Isles with a drop of only 6.9% on average.
Estate agents are reporting an increase in sales of houses but analysts are predicting a long road to recovery.
House prices are beginning to show signs of flattening off; perhaps we are finally reaching the bottom of the worst economic downturn since the 1930’s having overtaken the slump of the 80’s a long time ago.

To Buy or not to buy, that is the question on everyones lips, if this is the bottom of the pit, then surely now is the best possible time to buy property? Well yes, but it’s still a gamble, prices could still drop dramatically, and these days its not that easy to buy a house unless you have a 20% cash deposit lying around the place.

Oooh thats a nice bungalow!.. now where’s that 40k I had in my wallet?