London Homes Bucking House Price Trend
The cost of homes in the UK capital has risen over the last year, while the prices everywhere else in the country fell, Land Registry figures reveal.
The London property market is the only area to see a rise in prices, according to the organisation’s May index, with the average UK property price having dropped 0.4% over the last 12 months.
London House Prices Hit Three-Year High
The news comes as consultancy Cluttons release their summer edition of the London View property market breakdown – which puts the average central London house price at £1.6m – its highest level since 2008.
Much of the observed activity is being attributed to a high level of foreign investors putting their money into the London market, however sellers are warned that they must continue to price realistically if they are to achieve a sale, since the current climate has created an attitude of caution among buyers who are unwilling to pay prices they see as inflated.
This tentative approach is also having an impact on property market supply in the city as sellers hoping to achieve offers at, or above, their ideal asking price are choosing to let their homes while they wait for buyer attitudes to change. The report states: “Homeowners are taking the view that values will continue to rise and are unwilling to sell unless absolutely necessary.”
Lenders Urged to Support the Market
Meanwhile, calls for lenders to support the market with more mortgage approval continue, with the president of the National Association of Estate Agents, Wendy Evans Scott saying: “The banks must find a balance between the loose lending of the boom and the rigidity of the current lending rules.”
