London property market 'gone to sleep a bit'
6th Aug 2012
The London property market is still growing but 'has gone to sleep a bit' due to the Olympics, one expert has revealed.
A study from Knight Frank revealed that prime central London property prices are more than 13 per cent higher than they were during the last market peak in early 2008.
In central London, prime property prices rose by 0.5 per cent in July, which means annual growth stands at 10.3 per cent.
What's more, prices have seen a rise of almost half since March 2009 when the market hit a post credit-crunch low.
Nigel Ellis, director at Pricket & Ellis, blamed this slowing down of the market on the Olympic Games, suggesting that "everyone is giving London a wide berth".
However, he said there is no reason for investors to be overly concerned.
"I think it is just the time of the year - the holiday period. Generally people are being a bit cautious. We have had surges of buyers from various parts of the world coming over and maybe that has just eased off for a bit," explained the expert.
"It hasn't affected prices. Maybe it affects people's budgets, but they can still buy at a lower level. There is less activity, but I think that is pretty much across the board."
Posted by Staff Writer: Ewan Robertson 
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