London’s house prices fall 2.3pc over six months
LONDON’S house price boom ground to a halt at the end of 2014, official figures showed yesterday, while prices across the rest of the country continued to rise modestly.
The average British property in December cost £272,000, up 0.7 per cent on the month and 9.8 per cent on the year.
By contrast, London homes cost an average of £502,000 – up 13.3 per cent on the year, but only up 0.2 per cent on the month.
Since August, London prices have fallen by 2.3 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.
The south east saw prices rise by 11.5 per cent on the year, while those in the east of England rose 11.4 per cent.
The smallest increases came in Wales and in the north west of England, where prices rose by four per cent. Meanwhile, the cheapest properties can be found in the north east of England at £153,000.
London-centred estate agents Haart also believe prices in the capital fell another one per cent in January, taking prices in the capital back to the same level seen in January 2014.
“This window of affordability will be short-lived as a severe stock shortage spreads pre-election,” the estate agency’s boss Paul Smith predicted.
“Borrowers have never had it so good as highly competitive mortgages are in abundance with lenders falling over themselves to gain market share.”