A changing market

The property market in London is changing. 

No, I am not talking about how properties are sold and bought, or rented and let out (that is another very interesting discussion) what I am talking about are the dynamics of sales volumes and price changes.

Sales Volume

Let's look at volumes first, I have always believed that volume is a very strong indicator of what is happening in the marketplace. Lots of sales volume highlight high demand, high turnover, high relative affordability or a combination of all of these. Since 2014, London has seen a steady decline in sales volumes year on year. Looking further back though, even at the 2014 peak, London sales volumes were significantly lower than any year between 1996 - 2007. 

Clearly, there are fewer people buying and selling.

Price Changes

Price changes are a strong indicator of the balance between supply and demand. As demand increases, prices generally get pushed up. year on year, prices in London have gone down by 0.4% May 17 - May 18 - additionally, asking prices have gone down 1.7%. 

“London has a massive housing shortage, demand is much higher than supply, you don’t make any sense”

I hear you. However, the massive demand is at price points that are not in supply, price points where there are very limited to no properties available. 

For the bulk of available supply, there is no overwhelming demand. One can actually make an assumption that the supply at current pricing for a large segment of the market is stronger than demand, thus we are seeing the decrease in sales prices and asking prices.

What does this mean?

If you are in the market as a buyer or as a seller, you need to be very smart. Research what you are doing, or better yet, work with someone who knows and understands the market and ensure that you are buying at the right price or selling at the right price.

There is always business to be had in any market, when the market is changing as it is now, its time to act smarter and make better-informed decisions about the buying and selling of property, whether that's for personal use, for investment or for development.

Kind regards,

Rian Strauss

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