New | Election jitters spur fall in London home prices
London home sellers asking 0.4 per cent less in the first decline in March in three years on concern over 'mansion tax' and stamp duties
Asking prices for London homes have declined as affordability constraints and pre-election jitters denied the property market its usual spring boost.
Prices demanded by sellers dropped 0.4 per cent following a 2.8 per cent jump last month, property website Rightmove said.
It was the first decline seen in March for three years and took the average London house price to £580,308.
Values in England and Wales rose 1 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. "The consistent theme is of a readjusting market."
Near-record house prices and lending curbs introduced by the Bank of England last year were making it hard for first-time buyers, Rightmove said.