Omicron and political unrest at 10 Downing Street have caused the London property market to be analyzed through the lens of the pandemic. This forced many families to move to London after the first lockdown. The demand for homes in London’s leafy suburbs drove up prices and competition. Bill believes that the reopening offices, the return to overseas buyers and students and renewed interest from first-time buyers who want close to friends and work will lead to increased demand from potential buyers. November saw a 10-year high in the number of offers. The central London figure was 116% higher than that of the previous month. Knight Frank reported a 25% increase in outer London. Forecast for London 2022: 4 percent annual house price growth (Knight Frank). The demand will be balanced by more homes available. In a typical housing market cycle, this would cause a dramatic rise in house prices. However, Bill and other market analysts expect a significant increase in supply. Bill states that we have already seen an increase in sales instructions since January. Bill says that many potential buyers were unable to find the right house during the stamp duty holiday and didn’t put their houses on the market to buy. With increased confidence that the threat from omicron will diminish, we are seeing more properties on the market. The more homes are being marketed and built, the less the price rises. This number has been steadily increasing, despite the pandemic and temporary closure of the property industry in March/April 2020. It was 32% in 2009, when first-time buyers bought 32 percent of London’s homes for sale. This is a significant increase considering that London homes are more expensive than elsewhere in London. Many took advantage of the opportunity to move into this price bracket, especially with the Government’s Shared Equity Help to Buy scheme ending in April 2023. “Affordability is still limited in London, but first-time buyers still want a place close to work and the social life that comes with it,” she said. However, rising interest rates and inflation will not stop the recovery in the first rung of London’s housing market. Beveridge says that interest rates rose earlier than expected, referring to the 0.25 percent increase in the base rate in December. The Monetary Policy Committee will make its next decision in February. “Back in September, we believed that rising energy prices would be temporary. She says that this is not the case now and she expects more interest rate increases to come this year. Bill agrees. “A notable rise is in post,” he said. While mortgage rates are still at historic lows, the combination of rising monthly repayments and inflation (food-and energy bills) means that living costs are increasing which will impact house sales. Beveridge says that affordability is the main issue for Londoners looking to buy their first home. This pre-dates the Covid-19 crises. This keeps London’s price rises from spiraling out of control. Cloak-and-dagger sales, where homes are quietly sold without advertising, are common in prime central London. They are becoming more common in the mainstream market, both in Greater London and the Home Counties. “We have so many potential buyers on our books, waiting for the right property. As soon as we do a value, we know who that home will fit. Joss Cooper, of Seymours, in Surrey, says that more instructions are not being advertised. Chris Burton of Knight Frank Dulwich estimates around half of the stock being sold off-the-market. He says that selling is an emotional and stressful process, especially for downsizers who have lived in their home for between 30 and 50 years. “They don’t want to share their dirty linens or gossip with the neighbours. “Often a sale will trigger rumours about a divorce,” he says. Bill says that while there is still time for the next general election, and although there is some instability in the executive it is not more widespread. “Plus, this is nothing compared with the uncertainty of Brexit,” he says. Beveridge believes that buyers are less sensitive after the disruption of the referendum. After the pandemic, international buyers have returned to snap up luxury homes. Savills has released new numbers that show that the luxury market for?5 million plus had its strongest year since 2013, with 522 sales. Rokstone Properties founder Becky Fatemi says that the pound, which is still weak compared to the dollar, and lower prices are attracting US and European high-net worth individuals. Due to strict travel restrictions in the region, we are not seeing any eastern Asian buyers yet. “The PCL market usually leads a UK property market recovery, but the pandemic disrupted the normal patterns of highest growth in the leafy areas of the capital. Fatemi says that if the threat of Covid-19 variants begins to fade, I expect the cycle will reset with an influx in central.”
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