Morning:
14°c
Top homes prices steady
06.11.09
Luxury homes in London are still falling in value, but at a much slower rate than of late due to a shortage of properties for sale.
The reluctance of the well-to-do to put their homes on the market while the country remains in recession is steadying prices, estate agent Knight Frank said today.
The average value of houses and apartments costing over £1 million fell 3.2% in October from a year earlier, the seventh-consecutive month of narrowing losses, according to the property broker.
Prices increased 2.1% from September, the most since July 2007. That leaves home values 16% below their March 2008 peak.
Luxury residences in neighbourhoods like Chelsea, Kensington and Mayfair may not return to peak prices until 2012, a year or two sooner than the rest of the UK housing market, Knight Frank estimates.
“The shortage of good property for sale is acute,” said Nathalie Hirst, the London head of Prime Purchase, which acts for wealthy buyers.
Estate agents are hoping that the arrival of year-end banker bonuses will give a lift to the higher end of the property market.
