London house prices face further falls as experts warn of no-deal Brexit
London house prices could fall a further 1.6 per cent this year, according to a new Reuters poll that signals more trouble to come for the capital’s sluggish housing market.
In a survey of 30 housing market specialists, house prices in London are projected to tumble 1.6 per cent by the end of 2018 and a further 0.1 per cent next year.
Analysts surveyed in the poll also warned that a potential no-deal Brexit next March could drag down house prices further.
Read more: The Zone Two slump: Prime property prices tumble in London's fringes
Tony Williams, boss of property consultancy Building Value, told Reuters: "Central London is tanking because the traditional international buyers are staying away – and the quantum of buyers is falling. A disorderly Brexit will exacerbate this trend."
The data is fresh evidence of a slump in the capital’s property market, with Rightmove data last month indicating there has been a 0.7 per cent decline in London house prices so far this year.
Figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) earlier this summer found that the capital had suffered its sixteenth consecutive month of falling house sales in June.
Reacting to the Rics data, housing expert Henry Pryor told Morning Wire: "The fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year are going to be pretty bloody in the six months’ run-up to our actual divorce from the EU. People will be sitting on their houses until the dust blows over."
Read more: There is fresh evidence of a slowdown in Greater London's property market
London's most expensive property values have taken a particular hit, with yesterday’s Lonres research for Morning Wire showing that prime house prices in zone two areas such as Fulham and Putney have tumbled 5.3 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively.