London house prices are currently pretty flat, rising just 0.1 per cent over the past year according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.
So are we in a buyer’s market still, or does it belong to the sellers once again? It seems that estate agents can’t agree.
With the average London house price at £539,336, according to Halifax, homes in the capital are far, far above the national average of £288,949. Combined with high interest rates and mortgage costs in a cost-of-living crisis, buyers’ budgets are more constrained than ever.
Jeremy Leaf, an estate agent in North London, reports that only sensibly priced properties have a chance at securing a buyer. “We are not surprised to see house prices up a bit, then down a bit — a pattern which we are finding is repeated on the ground, reflecting that some sellers are more realistic than others,” he said.
“Purchasers [have] the opportunity to perhaps negotiate a little harder where possible.”
Leaf believes the ball is still in the buyer’s court and asking prices are far from set in stone.
“The market has lost a little momentum in the last month or so which has chimed with recent modest increases in mortgage rates as well as listings,” he added. “However, underlying confidence remains fairly strong for now at least, allowing purchasers the opportunity to perhaps negotiate a little harder where possible.”
London sellers have still been accepting offers with discounts of £19,500 on average, according to Zoopla.
But Matt Thompson, Head of Sales at Chesterton’s, believes that the shoe is on the other foot.“Compared to March, we saw an increase in the number of London house hunters, which also led to sellers feeling more confident about putting their property up for sale” he said.
“Still, demand continued to outweigh supply in April, which gave the majority of sellers the upper hand during price negotiations.”
“Demand continued to outweigh supply in April which gave the majority of sellers the upper hand during price negotiations.”
Amy Reynolds, Head of Sales at Richmond estate agency Antony Roberts, also reported more interest but from budget-conscious buyers.
“Our offices are busier, with a significant uplift in viewings,” she said. “Well-finished properties are having the most appeal, due to uncertain building costs and the difficulties in finding a builder in the first place.”
Fixer-uppers have traditionally offered a route onto the property ladder, but labour shortages, supply chain disruption and the legacy of years of rising cost of materials mean that doing up a house is beyond all but the heftiest budgets — unless you plan to do a lot of the work yourself.
Reynolds also reported that younger buyers are struggling to get into a position to buy in the first place, let alone negotiate.
“First-time buyers in particular are finding it difficult to raise deposits and are relying on the Bank of Mum and Dad more than ever to buy, especially in London.”
The average first-time buyer in London needs to stump up a deposit of £144,000, according to a recent report from the Building Societies Association.
