London property market rebounds with prices rising again
London home sellers raised asking prices by the most in more than a year this month as a seasonal surge in demand led a rebound in the capital's property market.
London home sellers raised asking prices by the most in more than a year this month as a seasonal surge in demand led a rebound in the capital's property market.
Values in the city increased 7 per cent from September to a record average £596,692 (HK$7.41 million), the biggest jump since October 2013, property website Rightmove said on Monday. The gain left prices 0.6 per cent higher than in May, when they were at their previous high, after falling in three of the previous four months.
"This is not a resurgence of the London boom," said Miles Shipside, a director at Rightmove. "Prices have effectively stood still over the last four months, an indication of the slowing market in some parts of the capital."
Some reports have indicated a loss of momentum in the London market in recent months after prices surged more than 20 per cent in the preceding year, twice the national average, and Bank of England financial-stability officials took measures to prevent overheating. Shipside said demand is showing signs of slowing and may continue to weaken during the winter.
Nationally, prices rose 2.6 per cent in October from the previous month, taking the annual gain across Britain to 7.6 per cent, compared with 7.9 per cent in September. Of the 10 regions tracked by Rightmove, seven posted monthly increases, led by London, while three saw declines.
The southeast of England overtook London as the region with the fastest annual increase, with asking prices in the area surrounding the capital up 10 per cent from a year earlier compared with the city's 9.6 per cent.
