Is The London Housing Bubble About To Burst?

A recent report by the London Evening Standard has highlighted the fact that the London property market is slowing down at quite a pace – leading analysts and industry figures to question whether or not the housing bubble is about to burst.

london-house-bubble

Key indicators behind the housing market include the momentum with which house prices are increasing, which according to analysts has slowed down significantly over the last year. Although prices are still increasing for property in London, the rate of those increases isn’t as fast as it has been in the past. The numbers of enquiries for property have also dropped, leaving them at their lowest point since 2008.

A number of factors have been linked to the slow down in London’s property market, including stricter mortgage lending rules that came into place in April – and also the impending Bank of England base rate increase, which has led many would-be buyers to hold off taking out a mortgage due to the potential increase in cost that any base rate increase would bring.

It’s hard to say whether or not the bubble will burst – and if it does, for how long. This could be just a small jitter in the rapid increase in the cost of living in London – or it could be a sign that there are serious problems on the road ahead. London is a truly global city that appeals to people from all corners of the globe and all walks of life. If the bubble does burst then it’s likely to offer some respite to first time buyers looking to get onto the housing ladder, but at the same time, demand for property in London is likely to remain high, so that bubble won’t burst for long.

More Families Move From West London to Home Counties

More Families Move From West London to Home Counties

Homeowners in London have witnessed huge gains in the value of their properties over the last decade or so – even bucking the downward trend of “the Great Recession”. A recent article in the Guardian, however, highlighted that according to research by Savills, an increasing number of people are now selling up in the capital and opting for property in the Home Counties instead.

Lots of people making the move from London have switched to areas such as Kent and Surrey – with others moving as far away as Oxford and Cambridge.

A slow down in the increase in value of properties is thought to be behind the exodus, with a large proportion of movers in West London also noticing the trend.

Now might be perceived as a great time to move out of London while house prices continue to increase year on year. A recent article byMoneyweek.com looks at whether or not the house price in bubble is shortly going to burst.

While much of the UK is seeing strong recovery growth as the country emerges from the worst recession for decades, growth in the London housing market is still positive, but it’s occurring at a slower rate compared to five years ago.

In terms of commercial property, London is still booming with lots of start-up companies and international investors having to turn to other UK cities for more affordable office space. Vacancy rates are at a record low, and rental prices per square foot are exceeding £100 per month in many cases.

Only time will tell if the people jumping from London to the Home Counties have made the right decision – or whether or not those properties will continue to increase in value. One thing is for sure, however, property in London is in high demand and it looks things will remain the same for the foreseeable future.