More than 200 apartments in a new residential development was reported to be sold out in less than five hours. Given that the building is not even done yet, this indicates a very strong demand for properties in east London.
More than 3,000 people registered for Canary Wharf's Maine Tower creating a queue of investors and buyers, both local and foreign, down the road 36 hours before the official sales launch.
The asking price ranged from £350,000 to £1.25M attracting a price per square foot of £1,200. Galliard Homes, the builder of the development, reportedly stated that the tower is expected to be complete by 2019 and is already sold out in that single morning a fortnight ago.
The high-rise housing is being jointly developed by Galliard Homes, Frogmore and Cain Hoy, who is reported to have spent £550M for the residential building. No. 10 Park Drive is the first residential development on the Canary Wharf area and having the Crossrail, a major and high frequency train service, is creating a property boom in the east of London.
According to the International Business Times, the property group Jones Lang Lasalle, in line with the developers of Crossrail, expects a rise of 44% on house prices in the Canary Wharf estate. The new railway line is believed to be a major cause of the rise in house prices in areas through which the line will run and would definitely add new levels of interest in the east of the capital.
The developers noted that half of the share of homes was bought by foreign investors, primarily from Greece, Italy, France and China. The Greeks are supposedly trying to invest their money out of their crisis-hit country while other overseas buyers are securing their investments in London's safe market.
Canary Wharf Group's head of residential Brian De'ath said in The Wharf said, "10 Park Drive is an attractive residential address, which will be surrounded by over 300 shops and restaurants, open spaces and some of the best transport links in London. We're really excited to welcome the first of many who will be able to call Canary Wharf their home."
