Property drought means homes sell at record speed in London

Friday 15th April 2011

A dearth of new properties on the market in London is causing houses to sell at their fastest-ever rate, according to Ivor Dickinson of Douglas & Gordon.

He said instruction levels are down 20% compared with last year – but with a rise of 20% more applicants.

He said: “After the flurry of new instructions at the start of this year, particularly around the £1m and above mark to avoid the 1% stamp duty rise, there is now a dearth of new properties coming on to the market.

“Uncertainty in the economy and owners expanding current properties rather than moving are two factors behind the property drought in the market this spring.

“Chelsea, for example, has suffered in the past few months as there hasn’t been sufficient stock on the market to generate the high interest levels seen in previous years and it has not seen the same number of buyers with big banker bonuses to spend.

“With schools starting to break up for the Easter holidays and an additional bank holiday at the end of the month, many vendors and buyers are holding off buying or selling until their lives are back to some degree of normality.”