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London is on course to end the year with house prices lower for the first time in a decade, as analysis by Hometrackshows prices in the capital have dipped by 0.1% over the past 12 months. The last time London house prices fell was during the financial crisis of 2008, when they tumbled 13.2%. While prices have since risen annually, Hometrack expects that to change, with a 2% fall forecast for next year. Its UK cities house price index shows house price inflation across Britain’s cities has fallen to 2.6%, with Bournemouth recording the sharpest annual slowdown, rising just 2.3% after recording gains of more than 5% the previous year. Only four cities recorded higher rates of house price growth than a year ago — Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff and Newcastle – while Edinburgh is the city with the fastest price growth, at 6.6%.
Source: The Times (19/12/2018)
Riverside homes in London attract a price premium of 30%, according to data from Knight Frank. "Even in a depressed market, due to their position and scarcity, a frontline waterfront property will face strong demand," said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank. Globally, however, London is ninth on the list of waterfront premiums – the highest premium worldwide can be found in Sydney, where waterside properties sell at 89% more than those inland.
Source: City AM (21/12/2018)
New research from Savills reveals that a four-bedroom house in London now costs almost £1m — an average of £990,000. The figures are based on the assumption that a London owner selling a three-bed home will have made £440,000 in equity over 10 years. "Even with equity, a leap from one London property size to another is enormous," says Sara Ransom, managing director of Stacks London Property Search. She explains that most areas of the capital suffer from a dearth of supply between a standard terrace and a much bigger house.
Source: The Sunday Times (16/12/2018)
Red Lion Court in Wapping, the first local warehouse refurbishment for over a decade, is helping Wapping to recapture its reputation for being London’s top spot for riverside living. The former grain store, located on the Thames beside a small park, has been converted to host 22 apartments, including penthouses with full-height glass walls and a roof terrace. Prices in the building, just a short ride away from Canary Wharf, start at £525,000 and rise to £1.4m.
Evening Standard (16/12/2018)
UK house price growth has hit a five-year low, according to the Office for National Statistics, with London weathering the lowest annual growth in the country at -1.7%. Annual growth in October was 2.7% in England, slowing from 3% in September, while average prices fell by 0.2% between September and October, taking the average UK house price to £231,000. The strongest annual growth (4.9%) was recorded in the North West, while growth in the North East dropped to -0.1%. The average house price rose annually in Wales by 3.8% to reach £161,000; by 4.4% in Scotland to £152,000; and 4.8% in Northern Ireland to £135,000.
The Daily Telegraph (19/12/2018)
Rics has said house prices will stagnate in 2019 and the number of sales will fall as Brexit and affordability constraints take their toll on the property market. Rics expects house sales to fall by 5% to about 1.15m compared with this year. Prices will be static in East Anglia and the south-west, but the body forecasts "solid momentum" behind price rises in Northern Ireland, the north-west, Scotland and Wales. Tarrant Parsons, Rics economist, said Brexit uncertainty had caused “greater hesitancy” – but a shortage of stock also continued to present buyers with limited choice, while stretched affordability is pricing many people out, he added. However Rics dismissed Bank of England projections of a possible 30% fall in house prices after a disorderly Brexit: "Some of the assumptions behind the disorderly Brexit scenario seem implausible to us.”
The Guardian (17/12/2018) City AM (17/12/2018)