News

New figures showing that the average asking price for a home in London has risen to more than £500,000 for the first time could add to fears of a new house price bubble being fuelled by cheap mortgages and government schemes to boost the market.

According to the Rightmove property website, the average price of a house coming on to the market in the capital jumped by £16,000, or 3.3%, in a month to a record £509,000, while the London borough of Camden has joined Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea in an “elite club” where the average price-tag is more than £1m.

The national average asking price has also hit a new high, having risen by more than £20,000, or 9.1%, since the start of 2013 to reach £249,000 – the strongest start to a year since 2004.

Cheap mortgage rates for those buyers with decent deposits, courtesy of the government’s funding for lending scheme, are driving positive sentiment, said a spokesman.

In London, with demand for properties far outstripping supply, open-house viewings attended by multiple buyers were becoming more commonplace, and sealed bids were the norm in some areas, the website claimed.

We are delighted to announce that we have agreed the terms for the sale of a luxury apartment near Regent’s Park in the Triton Building.

This was a secondary sale of an off-plan development.

The sale followed extensive marketing both in the UK and overseas.

We have buyers for similar opportunities.

Announcement from MayBank below:

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Key Features

Ringgit denominated mortgage

Maybank Overseas Mortgage Loan Scheme will be in Ringgit and your monthly instalments also payable in Ringgit; so you need not worry about the effect of fluctuating exchange rates on your monthly repayments throughout your mortgage tenure.

Financing for high-end residential and commercial properties

Properties financed may be for own occupation or investment purposes, both residential and commercial types located within London Zones 1 to 3.

Completed or off plan property financing

Whether your London property is completed or about to be developed, we will help you finance your property with ease.

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Enjoy greater savings with your mortgage as you have access to interest rates which are among the lowest in town.

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You can opt to include your London property legal and valuation fees as part of your mortgage, for greater financial flexibility.

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• No more currency fluctuation impact on your mortgage repayments
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• Long tenure up to 30 years or 70 years of age, whichever is earlier
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We are delighted to have been appointed to sell a stunning three bedroom apartment in the ArtHouse, Kings Cross.

This is an area of London that is currently undergoing massive regeneration.

Price: £1.25m

For more information please contact: christian@propertyinsidelondon.com

Particulars

ArtHouse booklet

The Bloomberg U.K. Home Builders Index has gained 36 percent this year as rising sales to foreigners boosts shares.

Berkeley Group Holdings Plc, the U.K.’s third-largest homebuilder by market value, sells 40 percent of its properties to people living outside the U.K., Managing Director Rob Perrins said in a February interview. Shares of the homebuilder, which has offices in Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong, have increased by almost a 20 percent this year.

Only one in seven foreign buyers of new London homes will live in the property and the remainder plan to rent them out, Chicago-based Jones Lang said, citing a survey of buyers.

“Without international investors, most residential developments in London wouldn’t happen and the housing crisis would be even greater,” Challis said.

London’s population is set to increase by about 15 percent to 9.4 million by 2021, the city’s governing councils said in a February report. That will lead to a shortfall of about 250,000 homes by 2020, according to the report.

Half of London’s new-home buyers come from abroad as the city’s reputation as a safe haven attracts rising investment and sustains development.

Foreigners spent more than 3 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) on new homes in the U.K. capital last year, a 25 percent increase from 2011, broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. said in a statement today.

London has cemented its status as a haven for foreign wealth, with home buying stoking property prices and masking market weakness elsewhere, former Bank of England policy maker Sushil Wadhwani said last month. The pound’s decline has helped attract investors from Malaysia to Russia to developments like Battersea Power Station where about half of the project’s apartments have been sold in overseas markets.

“The London development market would be more challenging without demand from international investors,” Adam Challis, head of residential research at Jones Lang said in the statement. “Since development funding from banks declined due to the market downturn, international purchasers have provided a vital lifeline to maintain supply.”

Home prices in London rose 10.6 percent in the year through March 13, led by a 38.7 percent gain in the City of Westminster where prime districts Mayfair and Belgravia are located, Acadametrics Ltd. said in a study released today. Rents in London were about 8 percent higher in March than a year earlier, LSL Property Services Plc said last month.

We are delighted to announce that we have been appointed to sell an apartment in another of London’s premier developments.

The Heron is an award winning develop in the heart of London’s financial district.

This stunning apartment is on the 17th floor. It is a studio with a separate bedroom area and comes with secure parking.

Price: £600,000

For more information please read the particulars ( Particulars ) and contact us on christian@propertyinsidelondon.com