propertytalk Live! - Tight supply of property pushes central London prices higher

propertytalk Live! - Tight supply of property pushes central London prices higher

A tight supply of stock and resilient demand pushed property prices higher in central London by 1.1% in January 2011.

The recent price performance has contributed to annual price growth of 10.3% in the 12 months to January and price rises have been led by the Knightsbridge and Kensington markets, where prices have improved by nearly 6% in three months.

According to Knight Frank prices are now 26.9% higher than March 2009 and 3.4% lower than their all time peak reached in March 2008.

Liam Bailey at Knight Frank said: “London has bucked the wider UK trend in recent months, with strong price growth and resilient demand for property. Whereas prices in the wider UK market fell by over 1% in the year to January, central London saw continued double digit growth.

“Demand for property has been strong, applicant volumes were 13% higher in the three months to January compared to the same period a year earlier. The real drivers of this demand have been overseas buyers, especially Europeans, and also City based buyers, who have been more numerous than expected given the uncertain discussions over bonus levels.

“A marker of the strength of the London market is shown by the fact that viewing volumes are up by 30% year-on-year in January.

“On the supply side, the ongoing issue of tight supply continues, while stock volumes are running at 3% above the level seen a year ago, they are still down by over 20% compared to January 2009.

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