Buyer wobble in London amid mortgage chaos, says leading agency
Chestertons says there was a 3% drop in new buyers in July as people waited for mortgage rates to decrease.
New buyers entering London’s property market fell 3% last month as many waited for mortgage rates to subside.
The latest data from Chestertons reveals less buyers registering in July than in June as the turmoil in the loans market continues.
Despite the smaller pool of buyers, the agency reports 12% more properties for sale.
And the number of property viewings its agents conducted over the month was only 3% less than July last year, showing that house hunters remain determined to find a property.
More cautious
Matt Thompson, head of sales at Chestertons, says: “With the Bank of England confirming the 14th consecutive rise in interest rates in a row at the start of August, buyers have been more cautious and are in some cases pausing their property search in order to adjust their finances.
“However, there are lots of buyers who have already locked in a mortgage rate with their lender, and are keen to secure a property before the rate expires.”
Eager
Homeowners remained eager to put their property on the market last month and wait for the right buyer, with Chestertons’ branches registering a 10% increase in properties being put up for sale year on year.
Meanwhile, demand for prime London property from buyers and renters jumped by nearly 60% last year, according to recent figures from Foxtons.
Data from Foxtons’ annual London Report showed a 59% increase in demand for high end London homes in 2022.
The company’s prime London offices delivered the highest levels of transactions since 2016.
