ResidentialMar 27 2018

Regional cities warm as London house prices cool

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Regional cities warm as London house prices cool

London house price growth is lagging behind other UK cities, with negative growth in almost half of London postcodes

This is according to figures from Hometrack, which showed that while UK city house price inflation is running at 5.2 per cent in the 12 months to February 2018, in London it is just 1 per cent a year.

Five cities, including Edinburgh and Liverpool recorded house price inflation of more than 7 per cent.

Russell Quirk, chief executive of estate agents Emoov, said the figures showed that city living is still appealing but unfortunately for the capital, the much higher price of getting on the ladder plus the greater degree of buyer uncertainty as a result, has seen London remain one of the ugly ducklings of city living where market performance is concerned.

But Mr Quirk said we have seen over the years, the popularity of the London market is cyclical and while it may have fallen out of favour for the time being, this cool in price growth is unlikely to prevail as the year plays out.

He added it was highly unlikely we will see a market crash in London in any shape or form.

Danny Belton, head of lender relationships at Legal & General Mortgage Club, said despite the naysayers who talk of a slowdown in the housing market, we need to remember that property prices are still on the rise and importantly at a more sustainable rate that benefits the new generation of first time buyers looking to get onto the property ladder.

He said: "We are no longer seeing the stratospheric rises in property prices of recent years that have locked many new buyers out of the housing market, and that should be welcomed.

"At the same time, the mortgage market remains in a strong position, with thousands of buyers remortgaging and taking advantage of near-record low mortgage rates."