Are the snowy peaks of the UK Property Price Hikes now peaking?

Reading latest editorials on-line and taking a walk around a familiar area of London that I once lived close to and visiting estate agents and their listings, are we now at the top of the dizzy heights on UK house prices?

Money Week’s report on the 29th January 2016 refers us to five signs that we could be moving closer to end of the red hot property marketing, especially those in London. They refer to silly money now being paid for London property, even those on the outskirts and this was really evident where I was in London last week. Houses that were only £60,000 or so back at the beginning of the millennium are now reaching £250,000 + yet they still remain in the same, ie ex council, most in poor visual state, local amenities are poor with many shops boarded up, the same distance away from London and the same transportation facilities… So if salaries have not increased by 400% in 16 years, then what is causing this bubble? Is it now that property are seen as investment over homes? Further borrowing on the back of property price hikes has been keeping the economy to appear somewhat rosy? Can the country really now afford a true correction in property prices, especially London?

So silly money being paid for property, scrapping every last drop of money from tenants such as charging fees to showcase rental properties or landlord charging fees for tenants to have friends / family stopping over… I just await a sur-charge by landlords for full time, co full time resident, gold fish.

Self certs have made a come back, ie what many say are the liar loans, mortgage lending is at a post crash all time high, buy-to-flip lending and lastly is the increase of skyscraper buildings across London which Money Week says is another sign that the market has hit it’s peak.

Simon Jenkins, reporting in the Evening Standard, comes up with many thoughts towards price drops especially towards the luxury side of the industry with signs already showing that this is commencing already.

Craze of demand and surge in prices that attracts investors, a statement further added to with the likes of Youspotproperty who over the last couple of years pays members of the public bonus commissions upon spotting and giving tip-offs upon seeing derelict or run down properties. This shows the state of the current property market in London where we are now not only paying commission to estate agents for selling property, but we are also paying for companies to find potential bargains that can lead to more investors making money from property, hiking prices to new levels.

Is a crash due or is a crash just not sustainable and the likes of the government, those in charge, George Osborne’s and Boris Johnson’s of this world, will make sure that things stay as they are instead of a adjustment which many are crying out for?

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

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