Houses prices are decreasing in atleast 42 percent of London’s postcodes, and according to reports, it is believed that the house prices will fall across the whole of London by summer 2018.
While the capital just about kept its head above water, with the annual house price growth of 1 percent, many cities throughout the Midlands and North will see a mini-property boom.
Hometrack have claimed that cities such as Leicester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham all have price inflation of over 7 percent.
London house prices have seen a small increase in seven years. Annual house price inflation in London has tumbled to 4.3 percent in 2017, with a 1 percent rise representing the smallest increase since 2011.
Hometrack have stated that the decline in the capital was due to the Brexit uncertainty, tax changes for property investors and stretched affordability.
It has also been said that the proportion of boroughs, recording declines was at its highest since the financial crisis.
The house price inflation across the UK’s top cities has accelerated to 5.2 percent from 4 percent in 2017. Hometrack have stated that half of the 20 UK top cities have seen prices grow faster in 2018, while the other 10 cities saw house price inflation ease.
The pick-up in regional cities stands in contrast to London, but also to other southern cities, such as Bristol and Southampton, which have also seen a decrease in growth.
Cities such as Bristol, have recorded house price growth of 4.1 percent compared to 7.7 percent in February 2017. However, Southampton prices had fallen from 5.8 percent to 2.8 percent.
Cambridge and Aberdeen were the only two cities to see prices fall, although Hometrack has said that more cities across the UK will see house prices fall.
According to insight director at Hometrack, Richard Donnell: ‘We expect the balance of markets registering price falls to increase over 2018 as prices continue to adjust to what buyers are prepared to pay.’
In London, house prices are continuing to increase for 58 percent of postcodes, but this percentage has decreased since the past two years, and if the current trend continues, then the rate of growth in London is set to fall by mid-2018.
Richard Donnell also stated that: ‘The weakness in London’s housing market has been building since 2015 on the back of numerous tax changes aimed at overseas and UK investors and growing affordability pressures facing homeowners.’
‘Sales volumes are first to be a hit when demand weakens, and housing turnover across London is down 17 percent since 2014. Sales prices are next to follow, but with few forced sellers the level of price falls remains low.’
