London house prices set to soar, despite half a million new builds
10-29-2014
London estate agent Stirling Ackroyd have estimated that the area could see up to 570,000 new homes over the next 10 years, according to their latest research.
Despite this, the agent said that house prices will still soar over the next 10 years, with the population estimated to grow by 920,000 people between 2014 and 2024. Yet London is able to provide enough extra homes by redeveloping just 1.3% of the capital's land area on average, in areas including Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Islington and Hackney.
Andrew Bridges, managing director of Stirling Ackroyd, said:
"London can build the extra space required to house its own rapid success.
"To keep up with a growing population these opportunities are likely to become reality over the next 10 years. Even a cautious projection puts the capital's population at nine million before 2020, and half a decade before that landmark the city already needs more homes. Yet this level of development is not impossible or even unlikely. It's already starting."
"New homes hotspots are constantly evolving, and it is likely that in time developers will move from the top 10 areas identified here to the top 20 - and beyond," said Bridges, "Bigger trends are also clear. London's heart and soul is gradually shifting eastwards - not as any other location declines but as the entire city grows in the direction of maximum opportunity.
"Regeneration is vital for London to maintain its growth and status as a world city - while also bringing new status, new wealth and new opportunities to neighbourhoods that were previously only observers in London's spectacular show of economic growth," he added.
At 2014 prices, new homes could add a total of £198bn to London's gross property wealth, equating to an average £350,000 sale price for these new properties at current market rates.
Latest Office for National Statistics data shows that the average UK house price in August 2014 was at £274,000.