{
  "id": 9705566,
  "title": "I’m a property developer – here’s why I’m still building in London",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/im-a-property-developer-heres-why-im-still-building-in-london",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-25T04:54:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/im-a-property-developer-heres-why-im-still-building-in-london/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The property developer, John Mulryan, explains that despite current housing market challenges such as higher interest rates, increased build costs, and weaker sales, residential development remains a viable option. He points out that projects taking more than a decade from start to finish mean that those beginning construction now will not be completed until 2029. By that time, the interest rate environment may have shifted, home-buying should improve, and global situations may stabilize. He suggests that property developers who started work at the market's lowest point, anticipating a stronger economy later, have fared better.\n\nMulryan emphasizes that London, with its structural housing shortage, is facing an even more significant issue by 2029 due to the lack of new starts. He justifies the decision of Ballymore, Penta Real Estate, and their lenders to start construction in Canary Wharf, Nine Elms, and Battersea, investing £750 million. Despite soaring material and labor costs and new regulations, Mulryan remains confident in London's long-term potential as a global financial centre.\n\nThe developer highlights London's unique combination of a thriving financial sector, world-class universities, and rich cultural institutions. Canary Wharf, in particular, is experiencing a renaissance, becoming a hub for big businesses, start-ups, and residential apartments. 25 Cuba, a 52-story residential tower in Canary Wharf, is designed to cater to the lifestyle of ambitious Londoners with entrepreneurial ventures. The building includes amenities such as content studios, social hubs, collaboration spaces, and wellbeing areas.\n\nA survey of prospective London home-buyers found that four in five are involved in entrepreneurial activities outside their main job, ranking a home that supports their ambitions as a top priority. Mulryan believes that commencing residential development in the capital now, and investing in real estate at this time, will yield strong rewards from investing at the bottom of a cycle.",
  "summary": "Today’s housing market is hampered by higher interest rates, build cost inflation, weaker sales and headlines about war in the Middle East and Ukraine. But residential development has always been about managing cycles: with many projects taking more than a decade from conception through planning, construction to handing over the key to new homes. Property [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}