What is really happening to London's house prices - are they bubbling?

publication date: Oct 27, 2013
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author/source: Kate Faulkner, Property Expert and Author of Which? Property Books
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What's actually happening to property prices in London in 2013?

Click to download this chart so you can see which boroughs have exceeded 2007 heights, which are on a par and which ones have yet to recover.
 
Interestingly, despite what you hear and read in the media, there are still lots of good value properties available in London. And, looking back at property price rises in the last recession, according to the Land Registry, price rises of 11% in 2013 are no different to similar price rises London experienced after the last recession in the 1990.

The real price 'bubble' occurred from 2000, when prices were rising in excess of 20% a year - so today's 11% is no where near bubble territory, particularly when a third of areas still haven't recovered to 2007 heights.

Even in areas such as Kensington and Chelsea, although prices have risen by over 36% (Land Registry) since 2007, this isn't unusual for the area, especially with the huge amounts of international cash which is pouring into the area. Having said that though, 95% of buyers in prime central London are living here, working here or have a business in the UK. 

To look at this in more detail, it's worth reading the latest Savills report on the Prime Central London market: 

So the reality is, property prices in London since 2007 have fallen, risen a little or a lot and are rising at pretty much normal rates having under performed since the crash. And from a personal perspective, these rises are tough when wages, on average are either falling or just stagnant. The biggest issue in London appears to be property prices are rising irrespective of what's happening to wages, that makes affordability tough for the average wage earner, especially in the city.

However, it doesn't appear that London is anywhere near a bubble yet and these house price rises shouldn't put people off saving up to buy. Having seen many at the First Time Buyer show who have done this already, they've proved it is possible - hard work, but possible.

There are still plenty of options via Help to Buy, Shared Ownership and Equity loans or part buy with developers and there are many homes available in London for £200,000 and many available for even £100,000 with an hour's commute to London. It may not be ideal, but if you really want to own a property and work in such a successful capital city, I'm afraid it's price at the moment home owners.

Scroll down below to tell me your thoughts, what's happening in your market and we can work together to make real sense of what's happening in the property market.

All our information is brought to you by Kate Faulkner OBE, author of Which? Property books and one of the UK's top property experts.
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