House Prices Fall In UK’s Wealthiest Areas

Brexit is the word on everyone’s lips and the turmoil continues as we are getting further & further away from a deal. All this turmoil has started to have an impact on the UK’s housing market as Britains wealthiest areas have had up to 25% slashed off the value of their houses according to some leading estate agents.

What is the average asking price in London?

Data from Rightmove shows that properties in London before the Brexit vote in 2016, had an average asking price of £650,000. Today the average asking price in London has fallen to just below £600,000 for the first time since 2015.

These figures came from an assessment from Britain’s surveyors, which was issued last week. The assessment is especially gloomy for Britains housing market which is fueled by the lack of enthusiasm for our departure of the EU. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said that Britains house prices are falling at their fastest rate in the last five years and that the outlook for the property market is the weakest it has been in the last twenty years.

The London housing market is the most significantly affected area by the prospect of leaving the EU, given that at the higher end of the market is reliant of foreign buyers. There have been big falls in central London boroughs such as Kensington, Mayfair and Westminster.

Kensington and Chelsea have seen the average house price drop by a massive 21% during the last 12 months from £2.2m to £1.8m.

Westminster which is just behind Kensington and Chelsea is the second most expensive place to live and has seen an even bigger drop in the average house price of 25% from £1.9m to £1.4m.

What London boroughs have experienced a double-digit fall?

A recent sale in Westminster which was a mansion on Belgrave Square was bought for a staggering £60m but this property was previously listed a decade prior for a whopping £100m which is a massive 40% drop in value.

These areas are the only ones of the London boroughs to have experienced a double-digit falls the others include Fulham & Hammersmith where house price has dropped on average by 19% from £1.1m to £900k, Camden is also down by 11.5% along with Tower Hamlets down 11.3%.

With the sterlings slump after the Brexit vote foreign investors are finding bargain prices across London with 10 boroughs sales were up on last year according to Rightmove’s data.

Across England and Wales, the annual rate of growth is at it’s lowest level since 2012 at 0.6%.

With all this Brexit uncertainty it’s understandable for buyers & sellers to be taking a ‘wait and see what happens’ approach to the housing market performs. If the worst does happen and we do see a correction in the housing market, this will make homes more affordable for potential buyers.

Rightmove have said that the beginning of 2019 has undergone a sluggish and patchy start, which has seen the lowest monthly price rise since January 2012.

The data shows that the average UK house price has risen by 0.4% or £1,200 during the past month, taking the average house price to £298,733.

Out of the 11 regions, only 3 of these have had a price falls over the last month. These include London where the average asking price dipped to £593,972. Wales also dipped by 1.9% and the East Midlands felt a slight dip in average house prices by 0.3%.

Northern regions have been faring better in terms of pricing and vendors willing to move than those based down south. Rightmove says that the thought of Brexit scare more people down south than it does for people up north, maybe this is because of properties are generally more expensive down south.

About Charles Knox 1393 Articles
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