A new report from Knight Frank predicts that property prices in parts of central London will more than double in the next four years.
Knight Frank says the drivers will be volatile financial markets and major new transport projects such as Crossrail.
The London market has been booming, in contrast to most of the rest of the UK although last week, a company buying up distressed properties said it was now getting calls from parts of London hit by riots, with sellers complaining that their sales had fallen through and buyer interest had vanished. However, Knight Frank's report concentrates on the positive.
Grainne Gilmore, Knight Frank’s head of research, insisted: “London is really seen as a safe haven for global money. We ran some figures showing how prime property is doing in terms of asset classes. It beat the FTSE 100 tracker over the last ten years by quite a long margin and certainly gives gold a run for its money.
She went on: “Crossrail is going to change a lot of things. If you live in Barbican or Farringdon you’re going to be able to get directly to three airports within minutes.”
As a result, Knight Frank is forecasting that prices in this area and in the nearby City are set to rise 118% by the end of 2015, second only to the Vauxhall area in south London, where prices are forecast to jump 140% thanks to the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station along with the new US embassy to be built nearby.
This particular forecast could be problematic, however, with recent reports that the Battersea Power Station project is – yet again – hitting snags.
Altogether, Knight Frank thinks there are 13 hotspots in the capital which will outperform the 30% rise in prices it is predicting for central London as a whole by the end of 2015.
By most measures, central London house prices have already grown by over 10% this year.
Gilmore said: “There is a possibility we could see strong double-digit growth by the end of this year ... the figures just keep getting stronger.
“We definitely wouldn’t class what is happening at the moment as a bubble. The fundamentals of the market in London are quite different to the rest of the UK.”
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Comments
True Jonnie, but to suggest London prices will more than double over four years is laughable.
It's up there with the Express' proud declaration in December 2007 that prices would rocket.
I'm going to (stupidly?) hedge my bets and suggest central London - and not just the crappy Boroughs are now - will go negative YoY by 2012.
@Lord Lucan,
Bet you wish you still had that gaff in Belgravia, what’s that gone up by since you done a bunk eh?
This London thing is wearing a bit thin we had that lot that buy homes from desperate people saying it was down, this lot (who know a thing or two about London) saying its up, Foxtons having more money now than our own government and Douglas & Gordon (I think it was them) being worth £5 Trillion…………………..so, im starting to lean towards the views of my old mates Sibley and Rant, take London out of the house price indexes, its queering the pitch and making things look better than they are.
……………………hang on – while we are at it, take the North out too, and Wales, and any area with a Brummie accent…….in fact damn them all – if you are looking to buy and are worried about the short term value then just focus on the postcode you are looking in and ignore the rest.
Jonnie
Whatever happened to Rutley, airbrushed out in1996. If I bought anything from these people, I'd be digging up the patio.
Prices in Barbican or Farringdon doubling in 4 years owing to a train station we all know is coming? Silly. The coming of the station is mostly in the price already since every local estate agent mentions it.
London prices fell just as quickly as the rest of the country during the 08 - 09 declines. Has that much changed since then to exempt it from future falls?
'By most measures, central London house prices have already grown by over 10% this year.'
Wrong, one Borough (Kensington & Chelsea) is currently at 10.4% YoY.
The next biggest rise is Westminster at 6%.
Hackney, Hammersmith and Islington 5%
And so on (source, most recent LR report).
Ramp-tastic.
@ 2011-09-12 16:12:29
Good. Go, maybe you will learn to spell too.
London is a sh•thole. Grey, ugly, full of miserable rude Brits and unbleivably dirty. My dolllars will be spent in either France or back home in the U.S
RE “We definitely wouldn’t class what is happening at the moment as a bubble. The fundamentals of the market in London are quite different to the rest of the UK.”
Really lol
Why the ramping then?
Central London is a giant bubble on top of a bubble, people are going to get really burnt.
Its all based on property speculation. How stable is that?
An Estate Agent predicting prices will rise.......