It may be the start of the summer slowdown for the sales market, but for lettings, the market is limbering up. Traditionally September is when lettings' agents are at their busiest, but just as the selling season has shifted in recent years, so has lettings. Talking to lettings' agents I hear that July is the new September and that if you want to get ahead of the crowd, now is the time to look for your early autumn let.
The prime London sales market was subdued in May, with transactions particularly low for the time of year. Values decreased slightly on an annual basis and all activity measures bar price reductions were lower than May 2024. There were 35.8% fewer transactions in May than the same month a year ago, and 33.5% fewer than the 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic average) May average. The number of properties going under offer was 22.3% lower than a year ago and 2.4% lower than the 2017-2019 (prepandemic average) May average. Under offers are a leading indicator for transaction levels, suggesting lower activity in the coming months.
Activity in the prime London sales market in April was always likely to fall back after the spike in March, and so it proved. Prices fell slightly on an annual basis, while new instructions and price reductions continued to rise. There were 26.2% fewer transactions in April than the same month a year ago, and 22.9% fewer than the 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic average) April average. The number of properties going under offer was 15.7% lower than a year ago but 9.6% higher than the 2017-2019 (prepandemic average) April average.
Markets ebb and flow and while it may be spring, the market is proving a little sluggish. The cost of buying a property, and I don’t mean just the price, but the actual buying costs which include stamp duty, are now so high. And for some prohibitively so.
First price rise since summer 2023 but Prime London sales market remains mixed February the saw the first annual rise in prices for prime London since June 2023. This is despite stock on the market continuing to increase, with the monthly activity data showing supply growing faster than demand. The latest February data indicated a reasonable volume of activity for the time of year. Sales transactions fell by 8.4% compared with the same month last year but were 6.8% higher than the 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic average) February average. The number of properties going under offer was 11.0% higher than a year ago, and 18.8% more than the 2017-2019 (prepandemic average) February average
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