Monday, Aug 18, 2008
But London's different, innit!
The Guardian: London house prices fall 5.3% in a month
Londoners selling their homes have cut thousands of pounds off their asking prices as the downturn finally arrived in the capital.
Asking prices in London fell 5.3% in August, according to the Rightmove house price survey - equivalent to a £21,000 drop in a single month. Prices in some of the most sought-after suburbs are falling much lower. The average asking price in Wandsworth fell from £522,000 to £481,000 in a single month - or 7.9%. Homes in Brent, Kingston-upon-Thames, Richmond-upon-Thames and Greenwich were down more than 6.5%.
Posted by bufferbear @ 01:12 AM (1477 views) Add Comment
16 Comments
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1. paul said...
5.3% is an eye-watering drop. Dinner parties will fall silent across NW London.
2. it_is_going_with_a_bang said...
It's an acceptance of the view that prices will fall alot more. A 5 % drop is nothing compared to what they may well lose in 6 months to a year. Wouldn't you if you were selling?
3. str 2007 said...
This is significant, it's the first signs of falling asking prices and an admission by sellers that they need to be at least realistic.
From what I've seen in South Bucks and South Hants people have been asking 2007 peak plus another 10-15%.
Therefore we have a long way to go with asking price falls, but when people see this going on then they will have to admit defeat if they want to sell.
It can't belong before Estate Agents refuse to spend the money to market unrealistically priced properties.
4. japanese uncle said...
If 5.3% drop in a month trend continues, if not accelerates, 80% HPC in London will be the reality in Feb/2009. No such violent drop was observed even in Tokyo some part of which experienced 80% drop eventually in the early part of 2000s. 25% drop by April/2009 from the peak seems to have become a foregone conclusion now. Also 65% HPC nationwide may well be the reality much sooner than originally anticipated, circa 2011 maybe? Mother of all HPCs on earth! Congratulations!
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6. renting2 said...
Maybe the new fad will be boasting about how much they've lost on their property.
7. Statspuppets said...
we are only halfway through August, what are these numbers based on?
8. drewster said...
sold out,
As the economy slows, they might not be able to afford any more Columbian marching powder soon.
9. maddison said...
3. str 2007 "2007 peak plus another 10-15%."
I agree I bought in Kingston upon thames last year and there are some houses that we looked at last year that are still on the market and in one instance the price asked actually went up! The asking prices dont really reflect underlying value.
10. Dbc Reed said...
Perhaps some of these hold-outs need a nudge from the taxation system.Full business rates for empty buildings have done wonders for the commercial property market where prices have dropped like a stone.
11. mark wadsworth said...
As is traditional on this blog, all I can say is SWEET! The joke is that when Rightmove say prices are still rising or flat, we all dismiss this as irrelevant as they only talk about asking prices not actual selling prices, but hey. Selective quotation is what it's all about.
12. inbreda said...
be fair MW, the comments above are fair. The point is that if asking prices come down it is an admission by sellers that the y have to be more realistic. When asking prices were on the up, it was still true to say that they weren't necessarily going to achieve that price. It is an important change in sentiment, so it's not entirely selective quotation.
13. Mark Wadsworth said...
What dbc says.
Inbreda, fair point - but I'm not denying that I'm as guilty of selective quotation as anybody else on this 'blog.
Anecdotal - I bumped into a property developer I know vaguely at the weekend, and out of the blue he told me that my property price doom predictions with which I had obviously bored him several months ago were coming true.
14. doomwatch said...
Family homes in Wandsworth (biggest drop of 7.9% in 1 month) are not moving. Loads been on since Jan 08 trying their luck. A lot of these
places were picked up for peanuts in the last crash at auction but since "gentrification" they think they'll still get £700k plus. Oh dear.
15. it_is_going_with_a_bang said...
I have a friend who owns a few flats in North London. Last year I told him to sell at least 1 of them, valuation was £135k / £140k for it.
Then about 6 months ago prices had already slipped and he was told £125k.
Then 3 months ago he got a sale which then fell through at £120k
Now nobody wants to buy any flats in the area and the agent has told him that if he "wants to sell" he will have to sell for around £105k.
He still has the flat up for sale at £125k but knows nobody is buying - he is lucky that his tenant is allowing it to be sold / marketed with her there.
Prices may not have dived quite yet. But I have a strong feeling they will now. Just a matter of time.
16. Gf said...
Any opinions on how long before prices start going back up?