London house prices ‘to fall 5%’, says Rightmove

Buoyant property sales in England and Wales in November show the market has steadied after Britain’s decision to leave the EU and asking prices look set to rise by 2% next year, property data firm Rightmove said.

Sales were up in all regions except London in November. London’s central area was expected to remain weak, with prices falling by a further 5% in 2017, prices in while outer London were expected to match this year’s roughly 3% price rise.

Sales agreed were up by 5.2% last month compared with November 2015, it said.

“There was a bout of jitters with the unexpected referendum result, albeit now seemingly short-lived, but more may arrive after Article 50 is invoked,” said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst.

British prime minister Theresa May has said she will trigger the start of formal Brexit negotiations with the EU before the end of March, based on Article 50 of the bloc’s treaty.

“For the time being, any nervousness is being over-ridden by high demand for the short supply of suitable homes for sale in the lower and middle market in many parts of the country,” said Mr Shipside.

The British Chambers of Commerce nudged up its forecast for economic growth next year but downgraded the outlook for 2018 due to inflation pressures and ongoing uncertainty as Britain prepares to leave the EU.

The chambers revised up its expectations for GDP to 1.1% for 2017 from 1% after a stronger-than-expected economic performance after June’s vote which means the economy is likely to grow 2.1% this year, roughly its long-run average.

Reuters