sold.
Undeniably the London-centric housing bubble appears set to continue for the immediacy. Recent statistics confirm that prices in central London last year rose by an astounding 15% and the average house price is now north of £350,000. Hand in hand with these horrifying figures, only 4% of housing stock changed hands last year (down from 12% earlier in the decade) so expect all asking prices to be paid, expect all properties being snapped up before you hear about them, and expect, for the time being at least, and irrespective of a massive 7.5 ratio first-time house buyer prices to salaries, that prices are going to continue to rise. B*gger.
But if you’re planning to put your hand in your pocket and shell out for some bricks & mortar there is still the one major caveat to take account of: this market is built on low interest rates, and the interest rates, at the lowest level for over 300 years, cannot get any lower than they are now. That’s not to say they’re going to fly up tomorrow, but bet your bottom dollar that they will be going up sometime just after the next general election. And when they do, it’s going to get messy, very messy, very quickly.
