London property transactions down after 7% tax

Thursday, 10 May 2012 08:39

The new seven per cent stamp-duty tax on properties priced more than £2 million is being blamed for a drop in sales in the central London market.

London central prices continue to outstrip the rest of the UK but transaction numbers have started to decline according to the Land Registry.

In figures from the first quarter released today property sales in central London have hit a low.

There were 1,186 transactions during the quarter and only 186 of these were for houses.

This is 38 per cent lower than the average number of transaction for central London.

This is also 57 per cent below peak market levels, a worrying figure following the market recovery in London after the credit crisis.

But the lowered transaction numbers have not stifled prices with the first quarter seeing an increase of 0.6 per cent in the first quarter and a total increase of ten per cent in the past 12 months.

 “In our view, the suppression of prices during the credit crunch represented the opportunity of a generation to access prime London central residential at a discount to the true asset value,” Hugh Best, head of investment at LCP said.

“Since 2009/10 we have seen the market recover and London central residential prices are now bang-on trend.

“The market looks set to enjoy another buoyant growth cycle with particular upside in the sector below £2 million.”

 

London property market fractures

The London property market has fractured according to the results from the first quarter of this year. According to the Lonres.com market analysis the prime central market London is fracturing into separate sub-markets.

Property values set to edge lower, says RICS

Sales of homes may rise a little over the coming year but prices will struggle to follow suit, according to the RICS Housing Market Forecast published today. Headline price levels are predicted to drop by around three per cent across the UK.

Prime country property prices drop

Prime country properties have experienced a price drop while super-prime properties of £5 million or more continue to gain pace. According to the Knight Frank’s prime property index prices dropped by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Prime country homes fail to keep pace with London

Average prices in the prime country homes market have fallen 1.7 per cent in the last year, failing to keep pace with equivalent property in central London. According to Knight Frank, the luxury rural market usually follows the prime London market, albeit with a lag of 18 months.

Wandsworth’s prime property prices see an influx

Wandsworth is the top spot for price growth in the prime property market according to new figures. The prime index from PrimeLocation.com has revealed a whopping 29.3 per cent increase in asking prices in the London borough in the past year.

 

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