Central London house price growth 'three times UK rate'

Buy-to-let investors in central London have been enjoying a strengthening property market in the past year, a report indicates.

New analysis from property firm Knight Frank shows that the prices of the best homes in central London rose by 33 per cent in the year to the end of April 2007 - the fastest rate of growth since mid-1979.

The firm said that the data means that house prices in central London are rising at three times the rate seen in the UK market as a whole.

London's property market has been "incredibly active" so far in 2007, with price growth reaching 11.9 per cent in the first quarter of the year, the report stated.

Head of residential research at Knight Frank Liam Bailey commented: "London's traditional spring market rush starts earlier and earlier every year. For the past two years the season has opened in December rather than March, and has run on well into May."

The figures also showed that the strongest price growth has been seen in the central south-west regions, with Belgravia, South Kensington and Chelsea experiencing the largest rises.

However, a study from new homes specialist SmartNewHomes revealed that the average price of a new build property across London fell by 4.6 per cent in the past month.

Landlord Mortgages “We have seen Landlords buying again in London as the market settles and rents increase. Buy To Let looks strong for the coming quarter.”

Spring boost for London housing market

The London housing market is set to see an influx of properties in coming months as sellers make a rush before the introduction of home information packs (Hips), estate agents have predicted.

Haart has forecast a 20 per cent boost in the number of properties coming onto the market before the compulsory introduction of Hips on June 1st.

After the legislation comes into force sellers will have to purchase Hips before marketing the property, something which some may be keen to avoid.

Haart said that recent interest rate rises meant London house prices grew by only 0.1 per cent in February to an average of £260,375, but were likely to rise further in the spring due to the growth in new properties.

With 47 per cent of landlords planning to increase their buy-to-let property portfolios this year according to the Homebuyer Show, some may be planning to purchase London houses now in order to enjoy possible price rises in the future.

Chief executive of Haart Paul Smith said that with the introduction of Hips approaching, an "extremely buoyant" spring market was expected as sellers put forward more property.

He said: "With the high demand for properties still unsatisfied and the expected surge of properties for sale we anticipate property prices to increase by three per cent by the summer months."

'Strong start' for country house market

The country house market has had a strong start to the year, with the price of the average property in this sector growing by 3.1 per cent in the first quarter, according to new figures from Knight Frank.

The consultancy said that manor houses continued to be the strongest-performing type of property in this category, with their value growing by 3.5 per cent during the quarter.

Annual house price growth in this category reached 12.4 per cent, the highest rate recorded since 2000.

Meanwhile, the price of cottages has increased by 2.5 per cent to average a little over £547,000 and the price of a typical farmhouse has grown by 3.3 per cent to reach a typical price of more than £1.27 million in the first three months of the year.

The best-performing region in the UK for country houses was the south-west, with property value increasing by an average of 5.1 per cent in the first quarter.

"Payment of City bonuses together with an increasing international presence in the country house market has aided price growth," commented Knight Frank's head of residential research Liam Bailey.

Another premium property market which has seen a strong start to the year is the central London prime market, with annual house price growth reaching 32 per cent in March.

© See Terms and Conditions