London house price growth slows down for third consecutive month

Growth in the London and wider housing market continues to slow down, new data has revealed.

 

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals average London house prices grew 15.3 per cent in the year to November 2014, down from the 17.2 per cent recorded in October.

 

In the UK as a whole, growth in house prices fell but on a less drastic basis; year-on-year growth came in at 10 per cent in November, down from the 10.4 per cent recorded a month earlier.

 

Despite the capital’s cooldown, its average house price of £501,000 stands well above the UK average of £271,000. No region in the UK recorded higher year-on-year growth than London.

 

Excluding London and the south east, UK house prices grew just 7.1 per cent in the 12 months to November.

 

 

However, in contrast to the rest of the UK, prices in Northern Ireland recorded their biggest year-on-year rise since 2007, increasing 11.7 per cent to £147,000 in the year to November 2014.

 

The slowdown in UK house prices is expected to continue well into 2015 due to uncertainty surrounding the general election and expectations of higher interest rates.

 

Homebuilders Taylor Wimpey said house prices are slowing down to more normal conditions. It said it had identified “more balanced market conditions, with a lower rate of price growth, which should create a healthy and more sustainable market”.