The average price of a home in Islington has fallen by 3.8 per cent in the last year. The figures from Rightmove, one of the UK’s biggest property websites, reveal the average house price in the borough dropped by an average of £28,300, from £771,800 to £743,500, in the last 12 months. Growth in house prices in the capital is expected to slip below the national average, continuing a slide triggered by the Brexit vote.
House prices fall throughout capital
Other London boroughs also showed steep price falls. In Lambeth, the average price has dropped from £681,756 to £635,376 in the last year, while prices in Camden have fallen from £1,035,127 to £978,381 in the same period.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, warned house sellers to avoid overpricing. While prices rose in January, the increase is substantially less than in the last ten years.
Mr Shipside said: “The rise of 0.8% is well below the 1.6% monthly average at this time of year over the last ten years, and it is wise for sellers to be cautious and not to overprice.”
He noted that an increase in sellers has contributed to the slump in the capital’s house prices. “End-of-the-boom prices normally readjust more quickly if there is an oversupply,” said Shipside.
He added: “Some would-be sellers are holding back, preventing a glut of competition from forcing prices downward.”
Increase in some boroughs
Some boroughs experienced strong annual price growth in the survey with prices in Hackney and Bexley increasing by 3.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.
According to Bloomberg, slower economic growth and faster inflation since the Brexit vote are weighing on the market, while the Bank of England is raising interest rates, adding to the downward pressure. With the most recent official data showing earnings growth averaging 2.5%, unusually, wages are currently outpacing house prices.
The housing slump may also be weighing on consumer spending, which fell for the ninth month in 10 in February, according to a separate report by Visa.