Central london property market stays strong
The property market across the UK is facing significant challenges – but central London is buoyant.
Members of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) reported the property market is “dull� as recent monthly figures show external pressures are causing buyers to be prudent.
They said the number of house buyers on books, houses available and percentage of first-time buyers decreased throughout February.
Although the number of sales achieved remained static compared with last year, the average difference between asking and sales price continued to widen.
NAEA president Stewart Lilly said: “The figures reported in February echo the current climate of confusion that is clouding the property market at present.
“Invariably, the global credit crunch, especially the US situation, has had a knock-on effect which, coupled with consumer inflation, is placing continuing pressure.
“However, we still have a long way to go before we see the difficulties of the late 1980s repeating themselves.�
“We are aware that there are vast regional differences that still exist in the market around the UK with areas such as central London and a few other major cities continuing to keep up a regular pace, while some other areas may be patchier and even extremely slow. Overall, the market remains steady.�
Mr Lilley said it was disappointing to see the percentage of first-time buyers took a drop, but added: “However, we are hopeful that this sector of the market will recover and continue to grow as prices reflect the prevailing market conditions.
"The market is much more favourable to this target market. We continue to call on the Bank of England to lower interest rates to help prevent the economy slumping and to help bring back a renewed sense of optimism for the consumers.
“We also trust that our new housing minister will recognise this factor before she brings in first day marketing and HIPs – another factor in the current market.�
Ian Jones, from the NAEA Central London branch, said business had been continuing at a regular pace in the prime areas of central London. He added: “All price ranges are selling, albeit at normal pace; no longer the heady boom conditions of last year.
“Buyers are still out there, but there is a continuing shortage of properties that meet their requirements. In my role as an acquisition agent, I am still finding it difficult to satisfy my clients’ requirements owing to the shortage of stock – this very factor is what keeps the market buoyant in central London.�
The key points
The number of house buyers on estate agents’ books dropped from an average of 276
registered per agent in January to 243 in February 2008. This figure is the lowest recorded since the survey started
NAEA members across the country reported an average of 74 properties for sale in February 2008 compared to 83 in January 2007
The number of sales per agent remained the same in February with on average eight sales reported per agent. This figure is down from the same time last year, when 13 sales per agent were recorded
The percentage of sales agreed slightly decreased between January and February 2008, with the figures 9.86 per cent and 8.64 per cent reported respectively. The time taken to sell a property has also taken a slight drop, with an average of just over 20 weeks reported
The difference between asking and sales price has risen again this month, with 4.5 per cent noted
First-time buyers took a slight tumble in February, claiming 11.7 per cent of sales in the market
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