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Prime London property recovered from two months of decline in December, according to new figures from Knight Frank…
December showed a surprising increase over November with market growth of 1% - a reversal of the trend shown in the previous two months. Growth on an annual basis continues to slow but at 28.6% is now at a level similar to that last demonstrated in December 2006 (28.7%).
The slowdown in the quarterly figure appears to have steadied at 1.4% just 0.2% down on the previous quarter. The area with the greatest growth rate is the SW region of central London at 1.8%; the greatest increase over the last quarter.
Bucking the trend
Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research comments: “Coming amid largely pessimistic debate about the impact of the international credit crunch, December’s Knight Frank Prime Central London figures of one per cent growth appear to buck the trend of recent months. The quarterly figure also supports the notion that this particular market is steadying with growth slowing just 0.2% to 1.4% over the quarter.
“Although the annual growth rate slowed again to 28.6% it is worth noting that this is only 2% lower than January’s year on year rate and almost identical to the figure recorded in December 2006 (28.7%) which at that stage was the highest since June 1979.
Mr Bailey continued: “It would be unwise to suggest that London’s prime market has weathered the credit crunch on the back of these figures. Indeed most indicators suggest that tightening economic conditions will continue and this may well result in job losses across the city. If this is the case it will inevitably lead to property purchase becoming a discretionary as opposed to investment making process.
“A key factor that is keeping the market moving forward is the quality of the property available. Purchasers are now much more selective about which property to buy and with supply outstripping demand they are able to demand perfection for their money. Anything that falls short of this is leading vendors to renegotiate on price to achieve a sale.
Knight Frank Prime Central London Index
|
Month |
12 monthly % change |
6 monthly % change |
3 monthly % change |
Monthly % change |
|
Jan-07 |
30.6% |
14.5% |
8.7% |
3.0% |
|
Feb-07 |
31.1% |
16.3% |
8.5% |
2.6% |
|
Mar-07 |
31.8% |
17.1% |
8.7% |
2.9% |
|
Apr-07 |
32.8% |
17.8% |
8.4% |
2.7% |
|
May-07 |
33.0% |
17.5% |
8.3% |
2.4% |
|
Jun-07 |
34.5% |
18.0% |
8.5% |
3.1% |
|
Jul-07 |
36.4% |
19.1% |
9.8% |
3.9% |
|
Aug-07 |
37.9% |
18.5% |
9.4% |
2.1% |
|
Sep-07 |
36.5% |
16.6% |
7.4% |
1.2% |
|
Oct-07 |
34.1% |
13.8% |
3.6% |
0.3% |
|
Nov-07 |
30.6% |
11.2% |
1.6% |
0.1% |
|
Dec-07 |
28.6% |
8.9% |
1.4% |
1.0% |
|
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