Prime property prices soar 6% in a month as pound plummets- Evening Standard
– Wealthy foreign buyers given boost as pound slumps
– Kensington and Chelsea sees 6.2 per cent monthly rise in asking prices
– Asking prices up in London by average of 1.9pc since Feb
The sudden slump in the value of the pound has given the central London property market a dramatic boost at the start of the spring “buying season”, according to a report out today.
Sterling has fallen by about seven per cent since the start of the year, making London property far more affordable to wealthy foreign buyers armed with dollars, euros or Chinese yuan.
Sellers are in the strongest position in the most desirable areas of central London, with Kensington & Chelsea seeing a 6.2 per cent monthly rise in asking prices to £2.32 million, up 15.8 per cent on the same time last year, according to property website Rightmove.
Westminster properties came to the market in March priced at an average of £1.58 million, up 5.8 per cent in a month or 14 per cent in a year.
The biggest annual rise was 16.8 per cent in Hammersmith and Fulham, where average asking prices breached £1 million for the first time.
Across London, average asking prices are 1.9 per cent higher than in February, at £496,298, and nine per cent higher than last year.
Although there is no guarantee that asking prices will be achieved, the sharp upward trend suggests a strong “sellers’ market”, with vendors and agents confident of finding buyers at higher prices.
The upward pressure on prices has been intensified by a shortage of homes on the market at the start of the peak buying season.
Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “London’s housing market continues to forge ahead, with seller pricing power still holding up in spite of the nine per cent jump seen in the last 12 months.
“Overseas buyers transferring their dollars or euros into sterling have found their buying power boosted since the beginning of the year. Many new-build developers have been mining this rich seam of overseas cash very successfully.
“While it is all a question of timing, some of these buyers may feel they currently have a window of opportunity that may push out some local buyers looking for a new home this spring.”
However, the steep rises will dismay would-be first-time buyers who have been holding out for a slump in the property market to give them a better chance of scrambling on to the property ladder.
The only boroughs where asking prices have slipped in the past month are Brent, Haringey, Tower Hamlets, Bromley, Sutton, Enfield, Croydon, Bexley and Barking and Dagenham.