London Property Prices Fall
Prices for the best properties in prime central London fell a further 2.2% in December 2008.
Properties costing £1m to £2.5m have been hit hardest and are 22% down from their peak.
On average, prime prices dropped by nearly 10% in the final quarter of 2008 and have fallen 18.4% from their March 2008 peak
The total number of £1m+ sales in the whole London market was down 49% in 2008 compared with 2007.
Houses worth over £10m+ are down only 8.1% from their August 2008 peak. However, they are now falling in line with the rest of the market.
Liam Bailey, head of residential research, Knight Frank, commented: “Prices continued their ongoing downward slide during the final month of 2008. There is little respite from the bad news across any of the central London markets – flats and houses have been hit as much as each other and prices have fallen from Canary Wharf across to Chelsea. The only bright spot appears to be that the rate of price decline is beginning to slow – with the 2.2% fall in December the smallest drop since September 2008
“Despite the slowing rate of price falls, it is too early to say that the market is turning a corner. The number of new properties coming to the market in December was slightly higher (1%) than the same month a year earlier, however the number of properties sold was down by 44% over the same period.
Entering 2009, there’s precious little good news in the property world and there’s no sign of any improvement. Sadly, it looks like quite the opposite according to most property gurus. SaveBorrowSpend brings you the latest scary facts to consider if you are on, or are thinking of getting on, the property ladder. Read if you dare!
Property Sales – the number of sales of residential property continue to plummet. The latest figures from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) show the average number of sales per estate agency fell during the 3 months to December to 10.1. This is a fall from 10.6 the previous month. And as with every figure you hear at the moment, yes… this also marks the lowest figure since records began!
Repossessions - It’s predicted 75,000 properties will be repossessed this year. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) believes the numbers will match those seen in 1991 during the 1990s house price crash. It’s also estimated 500,000 people will fall at least 3 months behind with their mortage repayments, with the banks getting ever more bullish with loan defaulters as they attempt to claw back their money and eradicate bad debt from their balance books.
