A growing number of properties on the London market are undergoing price cuts, adding to mounting evidence of a market slowdown in the capital.
More than a third (35.3 per cent) of properties on the market in the capital during July had undergone a price drop - up from 29.7 per cent in February, according to online estate agents HouseSimple.com.
The borough with the largest proportion of price cuts was Richmond (45.8 per cent), followed by Kingston-upon-Thames (45.3 per cent), Hillingdon and Hounslow (both 42.3 per cent).
Newham experienced the lowest proportion of price reductions, at 25.7 per cent.
The data, which is based on Zoopla price reduction statistics for all 32 London boroughs, comes shortly after Hometrack revealed annual house price inflation in the capital had dropped to a five-year low of just 2.6 per cent in June.
In contrast, many of the UK’s other major cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester, have consistently been experiencing annual price rises upwards of 6 per cent.
| Borough | % listings reduced in price - Feb 2017 | Total listings – July 17 | No. of listings reduced in price – July 17 | % of listings reduced in price – July 17 |
| Barking & Dagenham | 26.6 | 538 | 151 | 28.1 |
| Barnet | 29 | 4046 | 1280 | 31.6 |
| Bexley | 23 | 684 | 224 | 32.8 |
| Brent | 29.5 | 3434 | 1193 | 34.7 |
| Bromley | 31.4 | 1844 | 749 | 40.6 |
| Camden | 31.6 | 2545 | 884 | 34.7 |
| City of Westminster | 30.1 | 3451 | 1170 | 33.9 |
| Croydon | 28.2 | 1771 | 657 | 37.1 |
| Ealing | 33 | 2724 | 1031 | 37.9 |
| Enfield | 28.2 | 1656 | 559 | 33.8 |
| Greenwich | 22.7 | 1292 | 361 | 27.9 |
| Hackney | 26.5 | 1531 | 462 | 30.2 |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | 35.6 | 1705 | 592 | 34.7 |
| Haringey | 30.5 | 1367 | 528 | 38.6 |
| Harrow | 33.3 | 1753 | 710 | 40.5 |
| Havering | 24.3 | 1260 | 472 | 37.5 |
| Hillingdon | 33.9 | 1693 | 716 | 42.3 |
| Hounslow | 34.02 | 1696 | 717 | 42.3 |
| Islington | 29.2 | 1659 | 547 | 33 |
| Kensington & Chelsea | 35 | 2433 | 871 | 35.8 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 32.9 | 1359 | 616 | 45.3 |
| Lambeth | 31.5 | 3295 | 1191 | 36.2 |
| Lewisham | 29.7 | 1651 | 586 | 35.5 |
| Merton | 31.1 | 1614 | 615 | 38.1 |
| Newham | 22.6 | 2233 | 573 | 25.7 |
| Redbridge | 26.2 | 1181 | 394 | 33.4 |
| Richmond | 36.6 | 1576 | 721 | 45.8 |
| Southwark | 28.6 | 2804 | 826 | 29.5 |
| Sutton | 28.3 | 955 | 346 | 36.2 |
| Tower Hamlets | 23.9 | 3515 | 981 | 27.9 |
| Waltham Forest | 30.7 | 1211 | 397 | 32.8 |
| Wandsworth | 31.2 | 3869 | 1393 | 36 |
HouseSimple.com chief executive Alex Gosling said: “These figures only support the view that the London property market has run out of steam.
"Agents are dropping prices to persuade cautious buyers to purchase in an economic climate where it’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen next.
“What’s unusual about the level of discounted properties is that it would suggest there are too many sellers and not enough buyers. But strangely this market is still suffering from a lack of new supply.
“There are actually plenty of buyers looking, but they’re a different buyer from 12 months ago. They are more cautious and viewing multiple properties before making a decision.”
He added that people who were determined to sell would have to drop their asking prices because the market had fundamentally changed in the wake of the Brexit vote and the general election.
Mike Richards, director at London-based Mortgage Concepts Associates, said: “House prices in central London and outlying areas like Richmond and Kensington were overvalued and people are having to bring the prices down.
“I think vendors are not being realistic. I imagine estate agents are probably being more realistic but people are saying ‘my house is worth more than that’.
“Some of these areas are very highly priced, so they have to come down to a more realistic level – otherwise the majority of people will not be able to afford them.”
simon.allin@ft.com
