More properties in Little Venice needed to satisfy high demand

The Government is being urged to do more to increase the supply of properties in popular parts of the capital, such as Little Venice, a tranquil canal area in West London, near Maida Vale, because there are nowhere near enough homes to cater for high demand for both properties to rent and buy.

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has told the Government to "stand firm" on its planning proposals to help property developers increase the supply of new homes or risk a 'house building ice age'.

Speaking at the recent Housing Market Intelligence conference HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley said the "complete and utter nonsense" of the anti-development lobby must be ignored or a generation of people will be denied access to the housing market.

Located just north of Paddington, Little Venice, home to a number of waterside cafes, pubs and eateries, is a highly popular place to live, illustrated by the high number of prospective purchasers and tenants registering with Maida Vale estate agents with a view to securing a property in nearby Little Venice.

But with so many people actively looking at property for sale in Little Venice with a view to buying a sought after home, property prices in the area are widely expected to increase in the short to medium term.

Andrew Ellinas of Sandfords, a leading local estate agent, believes that demand will continue to grow, while supply is expected to remain sluggish, which should place upward pressure on residential property prices in Little Venice, among other prime parts of the capital.

"The Centre for Economics and Business Research [CEBR] believes the acute housing shortage will combine with pent-up demand from people who have deferred buying for fear prices will drop still further. Prices will rise as a result," said Mr Ellinas. [CEBR] predict a 16 per cent rise [on average across London] by the end of 2015."

In addition to a shortage of properties for sale, a lack of property to rent in Little Venice is also expected to cause further growth in rental prices in the area.

The latest data released by LSL Property Services, which owns various estate agents and letting agencies, shows that the average rental price of a home in the private sector in England and Wales increased by 0.7 per cent in September. Average rents in September hit a new high of £718 per month, led by growth in popular London districts, such as Little Venice.

David Newnes of LSL said rents were being pushed higher by growing demand from people seeking rental accommodation, partly because many would-be property purchasers are unable to access mortgage liquidity needed to buy a home, while the growing supply-demand imbalance is also having an impact.

"In many cases, buying a home is now cheaper on a monthly basis - provided renters can get past the stumbling block of the substantial deposit requirements," said Mr Newnes. "For the majority, saving a £25,000 deposit is a Herculean task as inflation and rents climb - and most would-be buyers are biting the bullet and prolonging their stay in increasingly costly rental accommodation."

He added: "As things stand, we won't see competition amongst prospective tenants diminish without a substantial expansion in the supply of rental properties available on the market."

Little Venice is a charming and tranquil area away from the hustle and bustle of nearby central London. But unless greater investment is made in the local area to increase supply and meet growing demand for accommodation requirements, sale and rental prices will simply continue to grow.

Dominic Agace, CEO of M Winkworth PLC, commented: "Rents continue to rise as the fundamentals continue to put upwards pressure on rents. Simply put, investment in the sector is not keeping pace with growing demand for accommodation requirements."