| Latest figures have revealed that house prices in London are dropping quicker than anywhere else in the UK. There has been a drop of nearly 10 per cent on the average house in the last 12 months, according to price monitors Housetrack; this compares to a figure of 8.1 per cent for the rest of the country. The average cost of houses across the London is now 285,400 pounds. This puts the average cost of properties in the cheapest boroughs below the stamp duty threshold of 175,000 pounds. The lowest of these are Dagenham and Barking which average 143,900 pounds, then at 166,100 pounds there is Lewisham, 166,800 in Bexley and in Newham the average is 170,500. Barking and Dagenham were the only boroughs in this bracket 12 months ago. Kensington and Chelsea have seen large falls in price seeing in some months, average prices falling by as much as 11,400 pounds. Hackney has also seen very weak prices. There have also been boroughs with an annual drop into double figures, the worst of these being Merton at 14.1 per cent followed by Sutton at 12.2 per cent. Buyer confidence is almost certain to be depressed further as the economic downturn gathers pace and we expect house prices to fall a further 20 per cent in 2009. A property expert at Capital Economics said: "The pace of house price falls in London has intensified, which is not surprising given the large scale City job losses and growing expectation of sharp cuts in City remuneration." In addition, in the top end of London's housing market transactions, homes priced at over 2 million pounds, were 53 per cent lower than a year ago. An analyst from IHS Global Insight said: "Credit conditions remain tight, while affordability, especially in London, is still poor. Unemployment is rising fast, income growth is muted and there is widespread expectation of further house price falls and recession. We expect house prices fall a further 15 per cent in 2009. A reduced fall of five per cent in the first half of 2010 may then be followed by a period of stability."A Director of Research at Housetrack, said, "The market has been stripped back to the bare bones in terms of sales numbers. The cuts in the Bank of England's base-rate are unlikely to have much direct impact on the market in the short run. Mortgage rates remain relatively high and are rarely available for more than 75 per cent of the value."Frank Knight, agents for some of the most prestigious properties in London, say that the best properties in Central London have fallen by 3.6 per cent and represent the second biggest drop recorded. Some commentators have been talking up "green shoots" in the property market. This is serving to confuse the public. The "green shoots" represent the signs that people are beginning to return to the market as mortgage approvals are up. This indicates that the numbers of house sales are beginning to edge up - but this is largely as a result of bargain hunting. There are still no concrete signs that the prices of houses are sprouting. Are you wanting to buy a new house and need a Mortgage, visit Brokers Online for a great deal. Brokers Online also provides its UK clients with Life Insurance, Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance and many more financial products. |
