‘Back to the office’ cooling Homes Counties property boom – claim
Two experts say house price dips in recent months indicate multiple factors are cooling market including end to home working.
Property prices for prime homes within many of the commuter zones around London are now selling for £150,000 below the asking price, it has been claimed.
Analysis by Investec of sale prices for homes worth over £1 million in the Home Counties has revealed a 9% drop over the past 12 months leading one expert to call an end to the recent property boom in these areas.
Biggest fall
Kent saw the biggest fall at 9.7%, according to research by financial services firm Investec. The county also suffered the slowest market with a 121-day wait to sell on average, The Times reports. In Hertfordshire, the market was stronger, but prices still dropped by 8.3%.

Carlos Mendes, a Private Banker with Investec, told the paper: “A move to the home counties gives buyers the opportunity to maximise the size of their property, often gaining over double the square footage of London property for the same money.
“It’s clear that buyers were able to secure some great deals last year, with average reductions of over £150,000 compared to their initial listing price.”
Cooled
But the market around London has cooled dramatically after the post-Covid pandemic boom, with less people keen to move out of the Capital.

Jamie Freeman, Director at the property buying advisory agency Haringtons UK, told The Times: “The return to office-based working, coupled with the cost of commuting, the challenges of settling children into new schools, higher interest rates and the ongoing burden of stamp duty, has significantly cooled the appetite for such moves.
“While some sellers remain overly ambitious, listing properties at inflated prices, the buying frenzy of 2021 and 2022 — when homes often sold overnight with ease — has subsided.”