U.K. Housing Prices Set An All Time Record
Selling a property in London takes twice as long than that in Scotland, however, the capital currently has the most stable housing market in the U.K. as prices soar over the other U.K. regions.
Even after the official end of the Covid lockdown in England, the housing demand in London remains quiet. The average asking price of £645,246 was adjusted down by 0.8% from June to July. An unusual occurrence for the generally busier London housing market. Whilst the country will forever remember the past year as having the greatest effect on the country, price tags on housing in the capital moved up by a mere 0.5% as opposed to the 5.7% the rest of the country experienced. On average, it has taken 57 days to sell a house in London in contrast to the national average of 34 days.
Major changes for the capital
As many swap their travel convenience for that of space, thanks to the changes in working environments and with more people working from home, buyers have opted for a more suburban lifestyle and thus homes out of the city have become extremely popular. There is hope though. The trend seems to be slowly reversing as the anticipated re-opening of offices in Autumn looms. This month in Westminster, the asking prices rose by 5% to a massive £1,437,811 which has been the highest jump of any district of London. Kensington and Chelsea seem to be following suit too, with prices of around £1,689,368 – up by 2.4%.
Stamp duty deadline impacts sales
An inflation of property prices was spurred by buyers and estate agents desperately trying to complete transactions by the end of June, thanks to the stamp duty deadline. The whole country, with the exception of the capital, saw properties hit new heights in the first half of July. Now at £21,389 (or 6.7%) higher than six months ago, July seems to be set to rise by a further 0.7% - the largest monthly rise at this time of the year since July 2007. And again, the bulk of these deals are being done in the leafy smaller towns and villages with buyers upsizing were possible.
Price growth not sustainable
Even with the substantial increase in the regions and their respective house price increases, the spike in activity and the massive rate in which house price growth has been seen over the past twelve months, is essentially not sustainable. Whilst this growth has been great for the property industry, caution should now be implemented as we enter a second year of substantial property value increase. In this regard, perhaps London is a safer option, and therefore the most stable option in the current property markets.
