London leads the way when it comes to demand
Mon 04 Jul 2022
Paul Bennett, Director
As we pass the midpoint of 2022, the Behr & Butchoff team in St. John’s Wood has noticed the property pendulum beginning to swing in a different direction. While price gains and buyer demand peaked in areas outside of the capital in the first quarter of the year, London’s pedigree is clear, with statistics showing the city is enjoying a runaway renaissance.
Comparison site, GetAgent, has been looking at property demand across England on a quarterly basis, using stock listed as ‘sold subject to contract’ or ‘under offer’ to compile its figures. Encouragingly, buyer demand across the entire country is remaining firm in the wake of interest rate rises and inflation.
The figures that interested us as London estate agents, however, were those that showed areas where demand is gathering pace. In the capital, demand increased by +7% between the first and second quarters of 2022. This is the largest quarterly increase seen across the whole of England, illustrating that demand is building and momentum gathering in London.
So what about property prices? The latest house price index from Zoopla shows that, generally, values are still rising but the rate at which they are doing so has slowed dramatically.
The property portal found that London’s average house prices were up +3.9% on the year. To quantify this, the average property in the capital has appreciated by almost £30,000 over the last two years and now has an average value of £516,100.
The speed at which the capital’s homes are selling remains above average. Zoopla’s analysis revealed that it takes an average of 35 days between a London property being listed as available to a sale agreed – much quicker than London’s 5-year average of 50 days.
When it comes to London’s rental market, the Behr & Butchoff lettings team doesn’t need any outside research to confirm that the market is brisk. The St. John’s Wood team still has more tenants registered than available lets, so now is an excellent time to make a property you own in London open to renters.
If you do need an impartial report to confirm how the London lettings market is behaving,
HomeLet’s May Rental Index is a good place to start. Its analysis showed London saw the highest annual growth in rental prices in the last 12 months - rising 15.7% - with demand continuing to fuel monthly rent rises. In fact, the capital city recorded the highest jump in rental values between April and May 2022 out of the entire country, with the average rental in May costing 1.6% more than in April 2022.
St. John’s Wood estate agent Behr & Butchoff is ready to help London’s buyers, sellers, investors and renters this summer. Please contact us for advice and a selection of available properties.