London house prices record biggest fall since 2008: Rics
[LONDON] House prices in central London fell at their sharpest pace since 2008 in August, intensifying the slowdown in the capital's housing market, but prices went up in other regions of Britain, a survey showed on Thursday.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said its monthly balance of overall British house prices picked up to +6 after dropping to a four-year low of +1 in July.
August's reading was above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. But RICS said the reading was consistent with only a marginal rise in national prices.
Britain's housing market has slowed since the June 2016 referendum decision to leave the European Union, when prices were rising by about 8 per cent a year, compared with growth rates of about 5 per cent now, according to official data.
Other measures from mortgage lenders have put the increase in house prices at about 2-3 per cent a year.
London's prime central districts have borne much of the brunt of the slowdown, in part reflecting concerns about the impact of Brexit on the capital's financial services industry and other related sectors.
Also, prices in London have quadrupled over in the past 20 years, making homes unaffordable for many of its residents.
Rics said surveyors rated housing in London and south-east England, where prices also fell, as the most over-valued in Britain.
Fifty-six per cent more surveyors in central London reported seeing a fall in prices than reported a rise, and it was the only region in Britain where prices were expected to fall over the next 12 months.
By contrast, Rics reported solid price growth in Northern Ireland, the north west and south west of England and Scotland.
However, the number of sales of properties across Britain continued to show no growth, a picture which began in November.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Property
Hong Kong developer weighs stake sale in London office skyscraper project
How Hudson Yards went from ghost town to office success story
S$16.5 million deal at The Ritz-Carlton Residences tops Q1 gainers; seller reaps S$4.9 million profit
Forrest Li’s wife buys Gallop Road bungalow next to the one he has redeveloped
Chinese restaurants spur Hong Kong’s retail property recovery
Asking rents down as demand slows and rental listings surge