Estate agent numbers fell in four out of ten London boroughs this year
Estate agents have been dropping off the high streets of four in ten London boroughs.
As the Brexit vote bites, and stamp duty taxes weigh on the upper end of the capital's property market, estate agents in some boroughs have been struggling.
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In Kensington and Chelsea – where house prices have fallen by 13 per cent this year – the number of estate agents has fallen by 1.5 per cent. In Barnet, the number of estate agents has fallen by 7.2 per cent.
Overall, the number of new estate agents opening in London has grown by just 0.5 per cent this year, according to the data from online estate agents House Simple.
Estate agents have been setting up shop in places such as Southwark and Lambeth, where the number of outlets has grown by 10.7 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively.
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Alex Gosling, chief executive of House Simple, said: "Last year saw an explosion of high street estate agent offices opening across London hoping to take advantage of a booming property market, and many would say, blighting our high streets.
"But after a strong start to 2016, the market has cooled, with stamp duty changes hitting super prime sales and the EU referendum and US election result putting some doubt in buyers' minds."
Gosling added that the opportunistic estate agents are often the first to disappear from the high street, perhaps explaining the change.