Reproduced with the kind permission of the Land Registry
Musings of the best Upmarket London Property Finders
The Land Registry house price statistics for August reflect the rosier ambience those of us involved in the property market have been experiencing for a number of months now. Most significantly, the number of house sales at the top end, particularly those over £2 million are up year on year at 54 a month in London. House prices in Westminster, which includes Mayfair, Marylebone, Bayswater and parts of Notting Hill are now down just 3.4% versus last year and we would expect them to end the year close to prices achieved in May 2008, when house prices in Westminster were at their peak. The average home in Westminster is now worth £574,714 compared to £622,950 in May 2008.
The average London house price is currently £310,640, down from a peak of £355,985 in January 2008. We would expect Land registry figures to continue to show growth into next year because they are published a month in arrears, however we still expect to see a few bargains as Winter approaches, particularly at the top end.
We know from our work throughout the South East that the picture is very different in different areas and in many cases valuations vary significantly street by street as picky buyers strive for perfection.
At borough level, this is borne out with the Land Registry statistics showing that some areas are continuing to struggle. Areas on the London fringe where there is lots of cheap stock such as Croydon, Barking and Dagenham, Merton, Newham, Waltham Forest and Sutton are still showing significant double digit deflation of over 15% year on year.
Of all London boroughs, only Westminster, Ealing and Barnet have average price falls of less than 10% since August last year, but Hackney may follow as prices jumped there by a massive 7.4% in August bringing annual price falls in the area to 10.4%.
So where to invest? Hackney looks promising and arguably has more good stock and more nice areas than fellow Olympic borough Tower Hamlets. Despite the figures given here, as London Property Finders anecdotally we feel that Hackney and Islington fell harder and quicker than many other central London areas but of course it’s about buying at the right price, wherever you buy and if you need help on that – Manse and Garret London Property Finders are here to help!
Technorati Tags: Latest London House Price Data, London House Prices, london house prices rise, London property, London Property Finder, London property finders, London property prices, London Property Prices Stable
Tags: Latest London House Price Data, London House Prices, london house prices rise, London property, London Property Finder, London property finders, London property prices, London Property Prices Stable
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