London Sees House Price Growth Fall for First Time in Almost a Decade
Through years of house price increase and contraction across the UK, one thing has always remained fairly constant – house prices in London. The capital city has seen house price growth skyrocket in recent years and that fact remained until just weeks ago. For the first time in almost a decade, property price growth has hit a wall and stumbled modestly. Between July and September house prices have declined 0.6% compared with the same time last year.
The average price of a home in London now sits at £471,761. According to Nationwide, this is the first time since the financial crisis that London house prices have fallen. On a more striking note, the region was the only region across the country in which house prices fell. Overall, house prices increased more than 2.1%. This brings the average cost of a home in the UK to £210,982.
Several factors have led to the latest move in house prices in London. Brexit uncertainty, new taxes on second homes, and unrealistic price points for buyers have all led to the most recent drop in value.
This could be part of the new norm for homes in the middle of the city, according to some housing specialists. The outer boroughs of the city are now seeing the effects of the drop in prices and are dropping to what some housing analysts consider a more sustainable house price purchase point.
Manchester has set the bar for house price growth quite high as they have just recorded an increase year on year of more than 7.2%.