New property hot spots around London
House price affordability in London is putting pressure on buyers to look to the commuter belt to find a home within their price range, latest data from the Land Regsitry shows annual growth of just more than 9%, making the average London house worth £475,961, in the South-East, annual price rises are also just over nine per cent, but average house prices are £246,552.
The demand for property within easy commuting distance of London is creating new property hot spots around London, St Albans in Hertforshire has become a favourite amongst such buyers.
Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, reportedly says “London has seen prolonged price growth for a 10-year period, this means people are finding it hard to buy in their preferred location in London, so they are looking to the commuter belt.
Price growth in London has pushed out into the outer boroughs. This is a classic sign that we are at the end of the cycle,” says Cook. “The result is that you are not going to see London perform as strongly as the rest of the country over the next five years.”
Any rise in interest rates would be an added factor in buyers making up their minds between London or outside London where they can purchase the same property for significantly less, mortgages are already harder to get as lenders have tightened up on their lending conditions, this will all have its affect on the London market which is expected to under perform the rest of the country over the next few years.