A Freedom of Information request has revealed that between January 2011 and May 2015 Newham council sold 501 properties under Right to Buy legislation.
These properties had a book value of almost £82 million, but due to statutory discounts the council received just £42 million.
Analysis of the data shows that the average value of each home sold was £163,224 and the average discount was £79,461, leaving Newham with receipts of just £83,763 per sale.
Sales by postcode were:
| Postcode | Number | Valuation | Sale price | Discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E16 | 94 | £14,401,100 | £7,189,300 | £7,211,800 |
| E12 | 56 | £8,296,500 | £3,890,270 | £4,406,230 |
| E15 | 85 | £14,586,900 | £7,773,458 | £6,813,442 |
| E7 | 45 | £7,653,200 | £4,092,380 | £3,560,820 |
| E6 | 128 | £20,828,995 | £10,562,717 | £10,266,278 |
| CM13 | 11 | £2,188,400 | £1,432,400 | £756,000 |
| E13 | 72 | £11,872,350 | £5,979,780 | £5,892,570 |
| RM13 | 3 | £486,000 | £252,300 | £233,700 |
| E11 | 4 | £727,000 | £346,200 | £380,800 |
| E14 | 1 | £245,000 | £145,000 | £100,000 |
| E18 | 1 | £360,000 | £260,000 | £100,000 |
| E* | 1 | £130,000 | £41,600 | £88,400 |
| Total | 501 | £81,775,445 | £41,965,405 | £39,810,040 |
* as listed by Newham in the FOI response
Of course, the council can rightly point out that it had no choice but to sell these homes – ‘right to buy’ is the law. But it can’t escape responsibility for other policies that are reducing the stock of social homes in the borough – for example it’s own NewShare scheme to sell off empty council houses on a shared ownership basis and its decision to keep hundreds of properties on the Carpenters Estate empty. Plus, of course, its repeated failure to enforce its own targets for affordable homes in new developments.
With the Tory government determined to expand ‘right to buy’ to housing associations it more vital than ever that the stock of affordable and social housing is increased. Newham has to do everything it can to make sure this happens.
forestgatedotnet 
Is the housing market actually as bad as people are saying? 2015 should be one of the best years since 2007. Check out our blog post with information from NAHB talking about the 2015 housing forecast! https://thechildsdreyfusgroup.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/2015-to-be-the-best-year-since-2007-for-new-single-family-homes/