Kevin's Property Blog - February 2016

Kevin Spires, Senior Sales Executive at Edward Ashdale estate agents, shares his latest thoughts on the property market.

December saw the rate of annual house price rises increase from 11.2% in November to 12.4%. The average house price in London is now £514,097.

An average property in London now costs a staggering ten times the average salary, according to the London Housing Commission.

What rise will we see for London house prices in 2016?  The range of forecasts suggests prices will rise on average of 3%-6%.  We predict property prices property in Bromley will increase by an average 6%-8%. 

The London Housing Commission report for the Institute for Public Policy Research shows 500,000 new homes need to be built in the capital over the next 10 years to keep up with demand, but in the past 10 years only 194,000 were built. 

So with the lack of new homes being built and it looks like interest rates will stay unchanged for 2016 these are two strong indicators why house prices could rise at an average of 5% this year.

But a good argument against a continuous rise in house prices is that they cost a staggering eight to ten times (earnings) the average salary. Looks like we have a very interesting year ahead.

Kevin Spires, Senior Sales Executive, Edward Ashdale, February 2016

Please call 020 8466 8445 to book your FREE MARKET APPRAISAL

You can view our earlier posts in our Index here.

Kevin's Property Blog - December 2015

Kevin Spires, Senior Sales Executive at Edward Ashdale estate agents, shares his latest thoughts on the property market.

London & Bromley

Average price increases accelerated to 9.6% in the year to September. Annual prices are now once again rising faster in London than in any other region of the country, and the average house price in the capital is now £499,995.

The majority of sales in Bromley during the last year were flats, selling for an average price of £277,772. Terraced properties sold for an average of £360,075, with semi-detached properties fetching £483,235.

Overall sold prices in Bromley over the last year were 7% up on the previous year and 27% up on the 2012 level of £320,659.

National

House prices rose across the UK in September, rising by 5.3% compared to 4.2% in August. Outside of London, the South East saw house prices rise the most at 8.5% in the year to September.

Excluding London, property prices in the countryside are, on average, 22% higher than in urban areas Despite this, the gap between “town” and “country” prices is narrowing as prices are rising more quickly in urban areas. Between 2010 and 2015, the average price of a home in the countryside rose by 13%, compared with an average increase of 23% in towns and cities.

The relative shortage of houses for sale means there are many more prospective home-owners than houses to buy. Prices will probably rise fastest in the entry level bracket with high demand from first-time buyers. In the short term there may be a rush from buy to let investors or second home buyers seeking to make a purchase before Stamp Duty rises by a further 3% from April 2016.

Kevin Spires, Senior Sales Executive, Edward Ashdale, for your free valuation call 020 8 466 8445.

You can view our earlier posts in our Index here.