How the pandemic reshaped London's property market

The Evening Standard looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected London’s property market over the last 12 months. The paper notes that house prices in the capital have climbed 6.2% since the property market was shut down a year ago, the fastest rise since 2016. While national lockdowns wiped 10% from GDP, property prices in the capital soared in the opposite direction – something highly unusual in recessions and will serve to exacerbate the housing affordability crisis at a time of rising unemployment. By comparison, property prices fell by 17.8% in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008 as indebted households sold their homes quickly and cheaply. Despite financial uncertainty, reports of families leaving London in their droves, and the paralysis of the arts, hospitality and tourism sectors, the total value of property in the capital increased during the pandemic to £1.8trn.

Evening Standard (17/03/2021)