London house price growth sinks to near-decade low
London house prices plunged to their lowest rate of growth in nearly a decade in July, falling 0.7 per cent as the capital's property market slowdown shows no sign of easing up.
The average London property cost £485,000, marking the steeping decline since September 2009, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Meanwhile, the average UK house price increased 3.1 per cent to £231,000 in the year leading up to July 2018, marking the slowest rate of growth since August 2013.
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Expensive homes on the outskirts of Central London have suffered significant price drops over the last 12 months, as buyers and sellers stay put amid growing political uncertainty.
House prices for prime properties in Zone Two areas such as Fulham and Putney have tumbled 5.3 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively in the last year, according to data carried out by Lonres for City A.M last month.
With the exception of October 2017, the UK's annual growth rate has remained below five per cent every month for nearly two years.
Kevin Roberts, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “Despite steadier year-on-year house price growth, recent statistics show that first-time buyers are having to dig deeper into their pockets to save for a deposit, with those in London needing to raise three times the amount required than in 2008.
Roberts added: "What we need is more homes. Solving the housing crisis is a long-term challenge, and we need the government to deliver on the target of building 300,000 new homes each year. Without delivering these much needed homes, home ownership will remain a dream for thousands of borrowers, rather than reality.”
The news comes as Theresa May plans to announce £2bn of new funding for the social housing sector during her keynote speech at the National Housing Summit later today, in the government's latest bid to ramp up supply and meet its affordable housebuilding targets.
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, said the new figures reflect "the market as it was in the summer months – since buyers and sellers have returned from their summer breaks, there has been a little more enthusiasm to sell homes than we have seen for a while."
However, he added: "This is the time of year when we would expect to have more activity and on the ground we are certainly seeing more property coming onto the market and more demand. But it is still hard to gain commitment from buyers because property needs to differentiate itself from the competition in order to attract interest and offers."