In recent months, the price of property has been on the increase in London while falling in the majority of the north of England. May signalled a halt however, with a drop in the prices of property in Belgravia and Knightsbridge. According to the independent estate agent Knight Frank, house prices decreased by 0.2 per cent in Belgravia in May and 0.3 per cent in Knightsbridge.
Despite the slight decrease in these districts, the survey from which these figures were presented also indicated that property prices in central London are on the up for this year by 3.2 per cent. As the scale of the UK’s economic struggles took hold there was a market low experienced in March 2009 but prices are up a huge 58 per cent when compared to that period.
As reported in The Independent, Knight Frank’s Head of Residential Research Liam Bailey noted that the statistics reflected a slight change in purchasing attitudes in the industry. He said: “There is a discernible shift in the market, with anecdotal feedback confirming that buyers are willing to agree to purchases, but only when prices are realistic.”
In the first four months of this year, there was an increase of 28 per cent in the amount of sales of properties worth less than £2million in the capital. The property market in London has been in stark contrast with other areas of the UK, with the average price of a home in Kensington and Chelsea as high as £1.1million.