A London agency has reported that it has not experienced the increase in sales and lettings it had expected after last month’s election.
Knight Frank reports annual house price growth of 2.3% in the 12 months til May, the lowest recorded in five and half years.
The firm also says that while pent up demand has been released, new demand has not spiked as expected since a majority government was elected.
Tom Bill, Knight Frank’s head of London residential research, says that high-end buyers in the capital are still digesting the new stamp duty rates introduced in December.
“The stamp duty change came on top of a series of other tax revisions including to capital gains tax and the annual tax on enveloped dwellings. All of which followed an exceptional period of growth during the financial crisis. It underlines how the notion of a sudden return to double digit annual growth or any sense of ‘business as usual’ is unfounded,” he says.
“There has undeniably been a release of pent up demand in recent weeks but while some vendors may expect an ‘election premium’, buyers have not responded in a similar way.”
Meanwhile, Cluttons says that in the wake of the election, challenges still remain for London’s housing market.
The firm reports that the uncertainty surrounding the property market prior to the election contributed to house price growth at less than 4%, compared to a 9.6% increase recorded during the same period in 2014.
“The outlook for the London housing market has stabilised, while buyers and vendors have returned to the market following a conspicuous absence of activity. Our outlook for the rest of the year is for increased stability in the market and a return to a more normal state of activity,” says Cluttons' international research and business development manager, Faisal Durrani.
Cluttons forecasts modest Central London house price growth of between 2% and 3% in 2015, before accelerating to nearly 5% in 2016 and stabilising at around 4% per annum between 2017 and 2019.
There are fears that the so-called Boris Bounce which saw a...
Knight Frank is predicting a post-summer slump in the prime London...
Knight Frank has become the latest high-end agency to admit that...
Buyer demand has rebounded in prime areas of the capital and...
It’s tempting to think that Michael Gove’s proposed clampdown on Airbnb-style...
Councils across England could make an additional £540m a year in...
The vast majority of negligence claims against conveyancers are for relatively...
You don’t have to simply accept things as they are when...
From the uptick in house sales in January to a house price...
Happy birthday to us….and all members of the The ValPal Network! We...
With a combined value surpassing £7.4 trillion, the UK’s 29 million...
Let's be honest – landlords are the lifeblood of any letting...
%20-%20IMAGE%20Client%20Accounting%20%E2%80%93%20what%20are%20your%20options.jpg)
The benefits for letting agents to outsource their client accounting is...
When almost all agents and developers use the tried and tested formula...
I think we can all agree that the National Trading Standards...
.png)
As domestic battery storage systems become increasingly prevalent in UK homes,...
.png)
A team from The ValPal Network joined industry Facebook ads expert...
.png)
In this interview, Riccardo Dawson, Chief Operating Officer at Alto and...
A client account is essential to your lettings business, but the...
%20(002).png)
In today's fast-paced and ever-evolving property industry, it’s essential that forward-thinking...
As electric vehicles increasingly populate our roads and the necessity for...
As estate agents, it is important to make sure that your...
Estate agency has changed. No longer is it required to sit in...
Changes to consumer behaviour usually arrive in waves. Most of the...
At iamproperty we are excited to share the announcement of our...
In an exclusive interview with Estate Agent Today, Simon Coaker, Sales &...
It’s no secret – 2023 is a difficult year for the...
2023 has been coined as ‘the year of AI adoption’, and...
%20(002).jpg)
There are a few common questions that arise when the issue...
As a signage company we know we have a serious responsibility...
The Government’s mini budget on September 23 was anything but ‘mini’...
Agent websites have become more crucial than ever in attracting new...
Interesting report this week in Estate Agent Today on an analysis...
An anti-money laundering (AML) expert has queried why there is a...
MPs have launched an inquiry on improving the home buying and...
MPs have launched an inquiry on improving the home buying and...
The Law Society is facing backlash from conveyancers after issuing new...
An anti-money laundering (AML) expert has queried why there is a...
Who are you and what does it say on...
Who are you, and what does it say on...
Who are you and what does it say on your...
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
I'm sure they'll cope.
I wasn't really anticipating any sort of post election 'bounce'. Even if Labour had gained power and meddled incompetently with the mechanisms, London property investment would still be pretty hard to beat. I've been mid-purchase (ridiculously) since November and didn't consider for a second pulling out or deferring until after the election. I'm sure most people took the same view.
It seems that Central London may have finally reached its property peak - maybe this is why we've seen a huge influx of buyers and renters choosing to move to coastal areas such as Portsmouth, Southampton and Brighton.
I doubt realistically this will cause too much damage to the already over-priced London market in the long-term.
Please login to comment