London home price rise 'unsustainable'

[LONDON] London house prices rose at an unsustainable rate in October as demand from overseas investors added pressure to a market with an already small supply of properties, according to Rightmove Plc.

Values in the UK capital surged 10.2 per cent, or £50,484 (S$101,158), to an average £544,232, the property-website operator said in a report. Estate agents in inner London reported a "buying frenzy" reducing the available stock to nearly nothing, it said.

"London is a world city where overseas investors see real estate as a safe asset at a time when safe assets are increasingly scarce," said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing-market analyst.