Press

"London continues to buck the trend of a rather gloomy national property market, and has been the only area to register consistent sale price rises in the past year. The lack of mortgage finance for first-time buyers has been creating a bottleneck for house purchases and price rises across most of the UK and whilst London is not totally immune from this problem, it has been much less heavily affected. In prime parts of the Capital, buyers are a healthy mixture of cash investors and those with hefty deposits – immune to the ongoing mortgage draught. As a result, competition for each home has actually climbed to a level not seen since 2007. With stock on the market still limited, prime prices keep climbing – an increase rippling out to the rest of London market. In Kensington and Chelsea alone, sales prices rose by 6.2% - twice the average growth for London’s market. That being the case, London represents excellent value for those looking to invest -  especially for overseas buyers who can exploit the relative weakness of sterling against the dollar and euro."

"The CML's latest mortgage figures will be a welcome boost for first-time buyers, who have been hardest hit of all by the ongoing lack of mortgage finance. Yet even after the slight increase last month, lending is a world away from the level it needs to reach to reinvigorate the housing market outside London. No-one is calling for a return to the days of reckless lending, but for activity and buyer confidence to filter from the Capital to other regional markets, lenders must shift their focus to the thousands of first-time buyers frozen out of the market by overly strict lending criteria.

"However even the ongoing dearth of mortgage finance hasn't put the brakes on the housing market in central London. Cash investors and buyers with substantial deposits have been immune to the mortgage market downturn and in prime areas of the Capital, activity and demand have been buoyant. This month, there have more than 14 buyers registering for each property and competition for property has reached levels not seen since in 2007. Nevertheless, for this activity to spread outside of the capital, lenders must up their commitment to help the lower end of the market."

London’s sporting calendar is drawing international attention to both Lords and Queen’s Tennis Club this week, and demand for properties in these areas have risen in value by 2.7% and 6% respectively in the last year alone, according to Marsh & Parsons.*

Demand for property in the St John’s Wood area has pushed the value of the average home in the area to around £906,000, while cricket fans looking to live on the same road as the Home of Cricket can typically pay a premium of at least 6% for a home with a view of the ground.**