Market activity beyond the borders of the capital is growing as the city’s fortunes take a battering. So says the latest research from estate agency Haart , which claims to have found a “reverse ripple effect” in data from its 100 or so branches across the UK in the wake of the vote for Brexit.
It found that while the number of transactions had fallen from more than 60,000 in June to less than 30,000 in August – activity in London fell a further 7.4% in September with prices down 0.7% month-on-month.
However, Haart’s data delivers a more promising picture for the nation, if not the capital in October with branches 100 miles from the city reporting 75% increases in activity.
Positive figures, albeit more modest, were also seen in the home counties with only London struggling in the wake of the referendum and the impact of the rise in Stamp Duty for investors in second homes.
Haart CEO Paul Smith said: “London has traditionally been seen as the crown jewel of the country’s property market, as its expanding housing bubble has grown in strength to strength in recent years.
“Typically resilient, London was the quickest to recover following in the 2008 recession. However the multitude of blows that have befallen its property market over the last couple of months are obviously proving too much to bear.
“We would like to see the Government announcing measures to ease London’s suffering in this coming Autumn Statement, such as cuts to the current rate of Stamp Duty, as well as new and greater measures to encourage home ownership.
"It is also especially important we see incentives put in place for London’s first-time-buyers, who are quickly becoming a generation of renters.”
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