The capital is starting to see a small growth in asking prices across the city and outer areas
Guest post by The Property Buying Company
This is the first annual increase since mid-2017. From these new arisen figures, out of all the London areas Zone 3 has seen the largest boost, and Zone 6 has seen the largest decline.
However, this contradicts the recent Quarterly Housing Market Report of July 2019. Within the second quarter report, it stated that house prices within London are continuing to decline, including the outer areas of London that have, in previous times, shown great resilience. Additionally, the report discussed how London has had the lowest annual growth compared to all UK regions. On one of the figures, it conveys how London has been declining since 2014 and recently, London has had the lowest annual HPI change since October 2009. To those reading this article and trying to sell within the London area, this data can seem disheartening. However, remember that the data from the Quarterly report is taken from before May 2019 and applies to London and its outskirts as a whole.
According to the latest Gov.UK press release of house pricing in England and Wales, the average price for a London property in June 2019 was £466,834. From the previous month, this is an increase of 0.7% on the average price. Although, in comparison to housing in June 2018, this is a difference of -2.7%.
|
Property Type |
Average Price June 2019 |
|
All properties |
£466,834 |
|
Detached |
£901,854 |
|
Flat/Maisonette |
£403,042 |
|
Semi-Detached |
£538,338 |
|
Terrace |
£493,000 |
Source: Gov.uk 2019
All this data gathered may seem rather mind boggling and confusing, but these slow changes can be pinned to a few issues. Firstly, a percentage of the population are still concerned around the uncertainty that Brexit is bringing, and for those that are wanting to sell their house quickly, there seems to be limited solutions. As the end of October draws closer among us all, many have started to prepare for the UK not being part of the European Union. The uncertainty has impacted the property market for the last four years, and London in particular has been badly affected. With asking prices increasing again, it conveys that London homeowners are starting to show signs of shaking off Brexit and starting to regain confidence in the property market. Once Brexit has been resolved and there is more certainty, then the asking prices are more than likely to continue to rise.
Secondly, there seems to be a seasonal slowdown. Springtime is historically the best time of year to sell your home. Now we are currently in Summertime (even though the weather may not reflect this), the housing market does have a tendency to slow due to the holidays, many being off work, and to many, selling their home is the last thing on their mind. Experts believe that many potential buyers and sellers have sat back and kept an eye on the market watching it fall year on year. However, if the asking prices continue to rise, then experts also believe that potential buyers may stop on the side lines before prices rise further.
Finally, according to Rightmove, there is a current shortage of houses which is underpinning housing prices. Combining this with the fact that the amount of new sellers is down by around 11% this year compared to last. Although, according to the current data recorded agreed sales have jumped in what is generally a slower month. Overall, the data suggests that both sellers and buyers are deciding to take the plunge after waiting around for Brexit to be determined.
Also, in the Rightmove report, the prices of new sellers were up by 1.3% from the previous year. This is eased only just on 0.1% within June. This is a small decline and the smallest since August 2006.
Usually, London leads the way in terms of property pricing. However, other areas within the UK have better when compared. Regions within the north of England such as the North Eat and Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales have seen a stable increase within their housing asking prices. On the other hand, the South East and South West of England have seen asking prices lower compared to previous years. Overall, it can be conveyed that asking prices across the UK are mixed and different to how many would assume.
As mentioned before, houses within Zone 3 (areas such as Camden, Islington, Hackney and Lambeth) have seen the strongest growth in the London region, as asking prices have increased by 2.8%. Central zones have also improved. Zone one’s prices increased by around 1.6% and zone two’s prices have risen by 1.8%. However, in areas such as Zone 6 (Enfield, Harrow and Hillingdon), houses have seen a decline in prices of around 1.7%.
