London house prices to drop as surveyors see slowdown
SURVEYORS are predicting a fall in London house prices in 2015, new survey data shows today.
Surveyors in London are anticipating a decline in prices of two to five per cent, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The price falls are expected to go along with a five to 10 per cent drop in sales.
The number of new potential house buyers fell for the sixth consecutive month in December. Price growth also slowed to its lowest pace since May 2013.
London is cooling at a quicker rate than the rest of the UK with 10 per cent more surveyors seeing fewer potential buyers nationwide in December – the same measure was 45 per cent for London.
There is optimism that December’s stamp duty reforms will lead to a two to five per cent boost in sales and prices over 2015.
“The changes to stamp duty are expected to provide a timely boost to activity in the housing market across most of the country but there remain significant challenges particularly for first time buyers seeking to take an initial step onto the property ladder,” said Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the RICS.
“The stock of property on the market continues to hover close to historic lows with new instructions to agents falling in ten of the last 12 months. Indeed, there is a risk that with so little housing available any pick-up in demand could rapidly feed through into higher prices, rather than higher sales.”
Other data showed signs of a slowing market as well.
Mortgage advances decreased by 6.6 per cent year-on-year in November in volume terms, according to figures released yesterday by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.