The rate of the decline in sales volumes is slowing across England and Wales, research shows.
Analysis of Land Registry data for the first month of 2020 by London Central Portfolio (LCP) found sales in England and Wales, excluding London, fell by just 0.2% between December and January, compared with 4.2% during the previous 12 months.
Similarly, sales in greater London were down 0.2% on a monthly basis and declined 6.1% in the 12 months to January, the property adviser said.
LCP said the prime central London (PCL) market was stabilising, with sales growth flat between December and January but rising 0.3% annually.
Average prices in England and Wales, excluding greater London, were up 1.9% annually to £261,243.
Naomi Heaton, chief executive of LCP, said: “The national market has been robust during recent Brexit uncertainty but, as negotiations commence on the UK’s future economic relationship with the EU and wider world, the domestic economy and property market may face headwinds.
“However, economists have been confounded by the UK’s performance to date and it will be interesting to see how the housing market responds in the coming months.”
It comes as London agent Chestertons said PCL properties are coming on to the market at twice the rate as other areas of the capital.
Chestertons’ January figures show that the number of new properties coming on to the market across its London branches was 31% higher than January 2019, but in PCL there was an increase of 64%.
Cory Askew, central London sales director at Chestertons, said: “The perceived stability provided by the result of the General Election was clearly just the ingredient that the market had been lacking and has given a huge boost to the property market in central London.
“It is very evident in our data that both buyers’ and sellers’ confidence and optimism are back with a bang and it’s no coincidence that instances of ‘best bids’ and ‘attended exchanges’, which are generally a sign of a rising market and have been incredibly rare over the last several years, have sharply increased across central London.”
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