London homes' asking prices fall in March amid election jitters

London

ASKING prices for London homes declined in March as affordability constraints and pre-election jitters denied the property market its usual spring boost.

Prices demanded by sellers fell 0.4 per cent following a 2.8 per cent jump in February, property website Rightmove plc said on Monday. It was the first decline seen in March for three years and took the average London house price to £580,308 (S$1.194 million). Values in England and Wales rose one per cent.

"This month fits the consistent pattern of ebbs and flows in many different localities within the overall London market, with prices still going up in some better-value boroughs and still going down in others that have overshot," Rightmove director Miles Shipside said in the statement. "The consistent …