London home sellers now get 91 per cent of asking price, but Westminster buyers achieve largest discount
Home sellers in London are now achieving 91 per cent of their initial asking price, an increase of six per cent on the first three months of this year, data from sales agent Benham and Reeves has found.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, some in the market panic-bought to secure properties over the last 18 months, which resulted in many property sellers to receive more than expected.
In some London boroughs sellers are seeing buyers pay over the asking price, due to the increased demand in people wanting certain types of property.
Barking and Dagenham home sellers saw 112 per cent of the asking price, while Barnet and Bexley owners achieved 101 per cent and Brent and Bromley receiving exactly what the home was marketed for, on average.
However, Westminster had the lowest levels of asking prices achieved at 84 per cent, followed closely by Wandsworth and Waltham Forest who saw homes sell for 90 per cent of what owners first wanted.
Despite the rise in asking prices, London had the lowest annual house price growth rate lying at 5.2 per cent due to properties costing £497,948 on average. The sort after city remains the most expensive area to purchase a home.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “The London market has been moving at the same rate of knots as the rest of the UK where annual appreciation is concerned. However, a 5.2% jump is far more significant in cash terms when compared to many other areas of the UK market and so sellers certainly won’t feel too hard done by.”
Since lockdown restrictions lifted, von Grundherr suggested London’s property market has begun to ‘build momentum’ again.
Boroughs Hammersmith, Greenwich and Bernet, saw a small drop of minus two per cent of asking prices, despite most boroughs seeing an increase.