Key Highlights
- Average home price in London +$685,000 for first time
- Values in UK capital up +9.7% in November compared with one year prior
- Prices in London now more than 2X national leve
A First – Average Home Price in London Hits $685,000
For the very first time, the average home price in London hit 513,997 pounds or $685,000, according to Land Registry numbers published by the Office for National Statistics last week. This November 2020 average home price increase is +9.7% than average home prices in London in November 2019.
Home values in the UK were matched only by price surges, but much lower prices, in Yorkshire and The Humber in northern England. In fact, according to the HM Land Registry ONS,home prices are essentially booming in the UK.
Home Prices in Inner London Grew More Quickly than Outer Boroughs
Specific to inner London, home prices grew more quickly there than those in outer boroughs. Home prices in Kensington and Chelsea, the UK’s most expensive districts, and Brent also saw increases of more than +20% even though city dwellers in these districts are migrating out to larger green spaces just as the wealthiest Americans are migrating larger, less dense areas.
A spokesperson for the Land Registry ONS said, “Demand for property in inner London may be particularly responsive to temporary property tax changes as property prices are high and therefore so is the corresponding tax to be paid. In addition, compared with other regions of the UK, London has a relatively high proportion of properties bough for investment, including from cash buyers and oversees investors.”
Now is time to buy for international investors due to coming property tax changes
Agents…pay attention! The “property tax changes” referred to in the quote in the above paragraph are those that have been temporarily halted due to the pandemic. England’s Stamp Tax will be fully restored and applicable to all properties acquired by overseas investors as of April 1, 2021. Agents…if you have non-UK clients interested in acquiring property in the UK, NOW is the time to do it…before England’s Stamp Tax is reinstated on April 1.
The Land Registry’sspokesperson also said that demand for property in inner London may be further fueled by nonresidents looking to “get in” prior to any property tax increases that may come with the reinstatement of the Stamp Tax plus a new avenue to UK citizenship for British Nationals Overseas in Hong Kong.
Thanks to Bloomberg, HM Land Registry ONS and the Office for National Statistics.
