Prime property prices in Britain remained largely unchanged during the third quarter of the year, according to new data released today.
The latest report from Knight Frank shows that prime property values fell by just 0.1% in the three months to September. However, year-on-year, growth is up by 0.5%. In London, there has been an annual fall of 1.8%.
Prime peaks
Currently, the growth in the prime market outside of London is slower than the peak of 5.2% recorded in 2014. Knight Frank believes that the moderation in price growth is due to the recent stamp duty changes being factored into asking prices and offers.
In addition, there are indications that prime property buyers are looking outside of the capital to the Home Counties. While overall figures suggest that the market has been subdued, activity has actually risen following the historic Brexit vote.
There was a 13% increase in new instructions between July and August in comparison to the same period in 2015. Knight Frank believes that this is due to many vendors who had previously halted plans to put their property onto the market now pushing on.
What’s more, there was a 7% rise in the number of properties going under offer. Sensible pricing remains constant, particularly for properties valued above £1.5m, where the top rate of stamp duty applies.
Prime property values remain constant in Q3 of 2016
Strong
Oliver Knight, partner at Knight Frank, observed: ‘the strongest markets continue to be affluent towns and cities which have outperformed their more rural counterparts, although the differential has narrowed in the last six to twelve months.’[1]
Knight also noted that the average property values in urban locations have increased by almost 2% year-on-year. In comparison, annual price growth for rural properties was 0.5%.
‘Prime urban markets benefit from good schools and amenities as well as excellent transport links to London, which make them among the first port of call for buyers from the capital. Our figures show a 43% increase in the number of sales to Londoners in the Home Counties in the first nine months of 2016 compared with the same period the previous year. We will continue to keep a close watch on key market indicators in the coming months to assess any potential longer term impacts of the referendum result,’ Knight added.[1]
[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/prime-property-prices-uk-mostly-unchanged-showing-positive-outlook/