london housebuyers get lift from brexit
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

London house-buyers get lift from Brexit

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today London house-buyers get lift from Brexit

House-buyers in London could stand to benefit from Brexit as property prices in the capital fall
London - Al Maghrib Today

At 24, Londoner Kai Brader-Tan did not expect to become a property owner so soon in a city where rocketing prices in recent years have prevented many of his peers from getting onto the housing ladder.

But the Brexit vote may have given him a step up.

A graduate in Chinese and economics now working for a sportswear company, Brader-Tan has bought his first-ever flat in south London's gentrifying Brixton area.

"It's been a fortunate turn of events," he told AFP, explaining that a drop in the asking price from £550,000 to £500,000 finally helped clinch the deal.

The capital's housing sector has been affected by a decline in investment from abroad which many experts have blamed on last year's Brexit referendum.

London house prices may be more than double the national average, but are now growing more slowly than in any other region in the country -- the first time in 10 years that this has happened.

One report last month even showed them falling.

A rise in inflation to three percent and the quarter-point increase in interest rates projected for November could bring down prices even more.

- 'The B-word' -

But there is little cause for celebration among developers, estate agents and investors.

The jitters about Brexit were palpable at the MIPIM UK property conference in London this month.

"The B-Word is the real concern," said Paul Steward, a strategist at Barings investment management firm.

"The hike in rates is tiny and we think this inflation is a blip. We're more worried about the downward economic trend overall," he said.

Martijn Vos, portfolio manager for European investments at Dutch financial services group APG, agreed.

"The issue is not so much interest rates and inflation, but the EU referendum," Vos said.

Once the uncertainties surrounding the Brexit process have been settled, "we can see how to deal with the other factors."

Foreign investors have been examining the fall in the average property price by 0.6 percent year-on-year in the last three months -- the first such decline since 2005, according to data gathered by Nationwide, the UK's largest mortgage provider.

- Foreign investment fears -

Just weeks before the UK voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, London's housing market was comfortably ahead of the rest of the country in terms of growth, official statistics show.

But by the end of the month, London was no longer the fastest-growing region, and the capital has not recovered its crown since.

Foreign direct investment into UK property plummeted from a five-year-high of £214 million (241 million euros, $280 million) in the third quarter of 2016 to £77 million in the second quarter of 2017.

"In central London, investment has been dominated by foreign high-net wealth... and this has sort of saturated," said Kim Politzer, director of European Research at investment manager Invesco Real Estate.

In addition to the fears surrounding Brexit, Chinese capital controls and British legislation making buy-to-let investments more expensive have contributed to the slow-down.

- A tale of two cities -

Away from the prime real estate in the city centre, softening demand is only indirectly linked to Brexit, says Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner.

Admittedly, the nosedive taken by the pound since Britain voted to leave the European Union has made the average basket of goods more expensive and reduced consumers' purchasing power.

But a more deep-rooted problem is the failure of wages to keep up with house-price inflation over the last few years, says Gardner.

"Affordability metrics in London are just far more stretched," he explains.

"The cost of servicing a typical mortgage for a typical first-time buyer in London is 57 percent of take home pay on a standardised measure, whereas nationally it's around 30 percent."

Some young buyers like Braden-Tan are benefiting from the dip in the market.

But he admits the "uncertainty" surrounding Brexit makes it is impossible to predict whether his investment will pay off in the future.

Source: AFP

almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

london housebuyers get lift from brexit london housebuyers get lift from brexit

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

london housebuyers get lift from brexit london housebuyers get lift from brexit

 



Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017

GMT 09:22 2018 Monday ,22 January

Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 11:03 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Modern colorful bedroom renovation

GMT 10:57 2017 Thursday ,21 December

Modern colorful bedroom renovation
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president

GMT 13:56 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Turkey detains dozens more

GMT 10:47 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Turkey detains dozens more
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today The Rake announces editorial updates

GMT 10:46 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

The Rake announces editorial updates
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Europe brings on charm and blue skies

GMT 11:51 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Europe brings on charm and blue skies
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today For the Variety of Interior Design Styles

GMT 10:46 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

For the Variety of Interior Design Styles
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today US Christian tourists see deep meaning

GMT 13:44 2018 Monday ,22 January

US Christian tourists see deep meaning
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 10:03 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 07:13 2012 Sunday ,15 January

Chinese pandas leave for France

GMT 20:38 2015 Wednesday ,02 September

Tropical forests in trouble in southeast Asia, west Africa

GMT 21:07 2017 Tuesday ,29 August

Keeping cool in combat: in Iraq the iceman cometh

GMT 19:12 2014 Wednesday ,12 November

Matavesi returns for Fiji against Wales

GMT 08:49 2014 Monday ,22 December

Sheikh Zayed International Peace Conference begins

GMT 12:21 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

Farah shock winner of BBC sports award

GMT 21:58 2017 Thursday ,30 November

February20th-March20th

GMT 00:02 2011 Thursday ,22 September

Syria\'s basketball team loses to the Philippines 52 / 75

GMT 20:45 2017 Wednesday ,26 July

Facebook profit jumps as user ranks grow

GMT 16:50 2012 Friday ,28 September

Iraqi forces hunt dozens of escaped \'Qaeda\' inmates

GMT 05:03 2013 Thursday ,13 June

The semiotics of the Taksim Square protests

GMT 18:01 2012 Thursday ,23 August

Modern collection of white furniture

GMT 18:01 2017 Thursday ,20 July

Halep, Raonic, Dimitrov take Washington wildcards

GMT 14:41 2012 Sunday ,13 May

Nights out are a teeny problem

GMT 20:19 2012 Friday ,03 February

Education Q&A: Business analysis
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
 
 Almaghrib Today Facebook,almaghrib today facebook  Almaghrib Today Twitter,almaghrib today twitter Almaghrib Today Rss,almaghrib today rss  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

.almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday almaghribtoday almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday