propertytalk Live! - House price decline slows London market for the first time

propertytalk Live! - House price decline slows London market for the first time

House prices have fallen for the first time in seven months declining by -0.1% over July in latest figures from Hometrack.
Notably London and the South East - areas that have supported headline price growth since the beginning of the year - are starting to slow as demand weakens and supply rises.
The first four months of the year saw a strong rise in the number of buyers registering with agents which in turn drove prices. But as the seasonal slowdown begins and the economy continues to weaken, so demand for housing is falling back.
Nationally demand fell by 2.1% in July, while the South East saw the greatest decline (-3.4%). London also registered an above average fall in new buy registrations (-2.4%).
Levels of supply continued to grow - albeit at a relatively steady pace - over the month. The number of new properties coming to the market grew by 1.4% in July and by 5.2% over the last three months. Over the same period demand fell by 2.2%.
The gap between supply and demand (see figure 2) is set to widen over the summer months and points to further modest price galls through the summer and autumn.