London property

London to be hit by triple whammy as experts predict soft property market during 2018

House price rises will slip behind inflation this year by half a percent across the UK and 1.6% in London, it has been predicted by over 30 leading property market experts. News agency Reuters, which polled the unnamed experts last week, says continuing worries over Brexit and weak consumer spending will subdue house price rises and investment confidence in the property sector. “Would-be sellers are holding onto assets for longer and buyers are being a little more diligent before committing to significant expenditures, all this against a backdrop of inflation-surpassing wage growth,” says Rod Lockhart of online mortgage firm LendInvest (pictured, left). Reuters says a majority of the experts it polled believed that the effect of the UK’s planned exit from Europe on London had been to decrease sales turnover, but that the picture was less clear nationally. Eleven of the 18 experts who answered the question on property sales said London’s turnover would decrease this year, driven by huge affordability problems, Brexit but also the government’s tax-hikes for landlords. “Quite simply, with loan-to-income ratios for first time buyers sitting at around four times, average salaries of £33,000, and your average flat in London costing over £500,000, it’s extremely difficult…