Residential house prices in prime central London rose by 1.7% in June, according to the latest report from Knight Frank, with the most expensive bracket seeing increases of as much as 1.9% for the first time since April last year.
The latest three-month figure also looks positive for the capital: prime central London house prices grew by 3.7% between April and June while prices on an annual basis still look bad with prices falling by 17.2%.
Lack of supply is supporting these prices, Knight Frank says, with 19.2% fewer properties available this June compared with last year, while the number of applicants looking to buy property has increase by 14% over the same time period and viewing volumes are up by 7%.
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Liam Bailey, head of Residential Research at Knight Frank said: ‘The central London market recovery has continued for a third month in succession. Price rises last month were led by the 10m+ sector which saw prices rise for the first time since the downturn began. We have also noted growing confidence from the wealthiest buyers in recent months – in terms of viewings and offers and this has now translated into actual sales.’
Russians and Europeans have been the most dominant buyers in the market, the research found, especially those from Greece, Italy, France and Spain, with some urgency from Euro zone buyers keen to benefit from the weakness of Sterling.
Tight supply of property is likely to remain a symptom of the summer months, says Knight Frank with the volume of new stock expected to come to the market in July around 40% lower than on a year-by-year basis.
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