London’s housing market grows as the UK’s slows
London is the only area in Britain where house price falls did not occur last month, according to research.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors‘ (Rics) housing market survey reports a third successive month of negative house price growth.
It shows 22.2 per cent of chartered surveyors have reported a fall in house prices down from 14.9 per cent in September, reflecting the fastest decline in sentiment since 30.9 per cent reported falls in July 2005.
Rics spokesman, Ian Perry, said: “London is the only region where new instructions have risen over the last two months indicating that more leveraged buyers at the margins may already be feeling the credit squeeze.
“Credit market turmoil has yet to put downward pressure on prices in the capital although prices have now stabilised even here.”
However, on the plus side new instructions to sell property have fallen, with 17 per cent more chartered surveyors reporting declines.
The market has also been kept afloat by a tightness of supply, despite the credit crunch impacting demand with a 41 per cent of chartered surveyors reporting a decline in new buyer enquiries.
