London Home Price Growth Continues To Outstrip Rest Of Uk

By Author: james forbes
Total Articles: 7
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The north-south divide widened further in February after almost half of all postcodes in London registered a property price increase, according to Hometrack.

The property analytics firm report that the average price of a residential property in this country increased by 0.1% in February, led by gains in the south of the country, particularly in London, while there were losses across the north.

Of markets registering an increase in prices, 74% were in London and the south-east, with 48% of London postcodes seeing property values rise in February.

Prices in the north-east fell by 0.2%, and 0.1% in both the north-west and Yorkshire and Humberside.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, commented: “The impetus for improved market conditions and higher prices has been driven by London and the Home Counties of southern England where there is the greatest mismatch between supply and demand.”

Whether asking Marylebone estate agents or Kilburn estate agents, most London-based property firms agree that London’s property market prospects look bright moving forward, thanks to low interest ...
... rates, rising property sales and more first-time buyers.

James Forbes interviews a wide selection of Hyde Park estate agents, Marylebone estate agents and Mayfair property consultants and finds that the message is the same – the London property market is booming on the back of a shortage of properties.

The number of homessold in the UK reached its highest level in over two-and-a-half years, with chartered surveyors selling an average of 16.8 homes in the three months to February, says the latest RICS housing market survey.
It would appear that the increase in mortgage finance availability from the government’s Funding for Lending scheme may be slowly encouraging would-be buyers to test the market.

Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director, commented: “It’s encouraging to see that the housing market now appears to be picking-up across most parts of the UK despite on-going concerns about the health of the economy. This may, in part, be down to the growing availability of mortgage finance through schemes such as Funding for Lending. However even with activity running at its best level since the middle of 2010, it is still well down on its pre-crisis norm.”

It may not yet be full steam ahead for the national housing market, but it is certainly building momentum - just ask Hyde Park estate agents, or pretty much any agent in London for that matter.

Peter Rollings, CEO of estate agent Marsh & Parsons, comments: “The improvement [in the property market] continues to be powered by the strong performance of London. Both domestic and foreign buyers’ appetite for bricks and mortar in the capital seems undiminished, and unless we see a sudden wave of properties hitting the market, prices will rise further over the spring period.

Any further capital growth would help build on capital gains recorded last year.

Despite a slowdown in the UK housing market in the final quarter of 2012, residential property prices still ended 2012 up 3.4%, thanks to strong growth in the opening six months of the year, according to Assetz House Price Watch.
The data, which Assetz claim offers a more accurate picture of house price trends, shows that the average price of a home finished the year at £202,824, an increase of £6,634 since December 2011, led by gains in London.

Stuart Law, chief executive of Assetz, said: “The market remains two tiered with London and the commuter heartlands of the South East and regional cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool seeing stronger pricerises than elsewhere in the UK.”

With the base rate still at its historic low of 0.5%, many experts, including Mayfair property consultants, Napier Watt, believe that more people will divert capital from low interest savings accounts to high yield property investments in London, particularly units that are well suited to the buoyant buy-to-let market.

The company, like many leading London-based consultants, is confident of further price growth, with some experts projecting price rises of as much as 5% this year, suggesting that the housing market recovery in London is picking up pace.