Houses in Lewisham. Pic: Wiki Commons
Lewisham has seen the biggest dip in property prices of all four of East London Lines boroughs, figures reveal.
In the borough the average price in September 2019 is £465,459, this is a fall of 1.4 per cent compared to last months figures and an annual change of 0.4%. Tower Hamlets has seen a 0.7 per cent monthly change, followed by Hackney which has had a change of 0.3 per cent this month and Croydon has seen a 0.2 per cent change in September compared to August.
In the UK, London has been hit particularly hard by its first September fall in nine years. Properties in the capital are now coming to the market at an average of 2.1 per cent cheaper than a year ago.
According to property website Rightmove’s house price index for September reported a 0.2 per cent or £730, drop in the asking prices of newly listed UK homes compared to August, the first fall seen at this time of year for nearly a decade.
This fall goes against the traditional “autumn bounce” in the property market during this time of the year, but Rightmove’s director and property analyst Miles Shipside has said this year it will be “a late starter at best” and could be missed altogether.
September often indicates an upturn in housing market activity, with price rises recorded every year for the past eight years.
Shipside pointed toward Brexit uncertainty and political disorder as the cause of this unusual lull in the property market.
Britain is due to leave the European Union on October 31 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is prepared for a no-deal Brexit is necessary.
It appears that worries over Brexit have caused buyers to hesitate and sellers to keep properties off the market.Rightmove said the number of properties coming onto market was down by 7.8 per cent this month compared with the same period a year ago, including a 20 per cent drop in the capital. The number of sales agreed has also dipped and is down 5.5 per cent in all regions.
Shipside said:” Many have got used to living in the jaws of uncertainty since the referendum over three years ago, and have been getting on with their lives and housing moves. However, as we approach yet another Brexit deadline, there are signs that the increasing gnashing of teeth is causing some to hesitate.”
