London housing back in demand as workers return to offices

[LONDON] London property is back in vogue as a return to the office fuels demand for homes in the UK capital.

That's according to Rightmove, which said in a report Monday (Feb 21) that buyer enquiries and asking prices both rose sharply this month.

The jump represents a turnaround for the London property market, which underperformed other parts of the country during the pandemic. Now, with restrictions ending and many firms asking workers to spend part of the week in the office, buyers are looking to live within a "comfortable" commuting distance.

The number of house hunters enquiring about a home in London is up 24 per cent from a year earlier, the biggest gain of any region, Rightmove said. Meanwhile sellers raised their asking prices by 6 per cent to a record £667,001 (S$1.2 million) on average.

The buoyancy of London was mirrored across the country, where asking prices rose 2.3 per cent. That's an increase of £7,785, the most in at least 2 decades of reporting by Rightmove.

Annual growth rates in London and the UK as a whole are running at their fastest pace since the middle of the last decade.

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"The rising cost of living is undoubtedly affecting many people's finances, especially those trying to save up enough for a deposit to get on the ladder or to trade up," said Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove.

"However, despite rising costs and rising interest rates, the data right now shows demand rising across the whole of Great Britain, with many people determined to move as we head into the spring home-moving season."

In a positive sign for buyers, a dearth choice appears to be easing as more people put their homes up for sale in the hope of making it easier to secure a new property.

"Agents are reporting many cases of movers who have missed out on their dream home because they did not already have their current home on the market or sold (subject to contract), and were pipped to the post by a competing buyer in a better position to proceed with a purchase," Rightmove said. BLOOMBERG