Prime House Prices Rocket

Do you wish you had seen a 24% increase in your house price since the post credit crisis in March 2009. Well prime houses in London’s top streets have done just that. Prime properties are defined by Knight Frank Rutley as £2m plus and they attribute much of this increase to international demand.

Why are Prices Going Up

• International demand is causing the strong market.  52-64% of London house sales in the last 12 months have gone to non UK buyers. The bigger the price the larger the proportion of foreign purchasors there seem to be.
• 61 different nationalities bought London houses in 2010.
• Wealth from commodities and Asian growth are big drivers whilst buyers from Spain and Uzbekistan have been the largest in number.
• The currency rates have remained favourable for foreign investors.
• There have been low numbers of properties available in this prime price band and low stock volumes equals strong prices.
• The low interest rates on mortgages may also have encourage people to commit to get good fixed rate deals.
• So the answer to why the prices are going up is ‘it’s the market stupid.’  Good old supply and demand.

sources Knight Frank Rutlet, Daily Telegraph and Mouseprices.com,  and Bloombergs

Super Prime Houses those worth over £10m are likely to continue rising in 2011 10% increases are forecast by Knight Frank Rutley. This is despite or because of the unrest in the Middle East. Apartments and luxury condominiums have already changed hands in 2011 at £6,000 per square foot.

Who is Mouseprice?

• I checked this out on Mouseprice where a 5 bed terrace house in W8 was going for £9.5m while a similar semi in Kensington was £11.4m. Mouseprice say the most expensive street in England is Victoria Road London W8 where the average property is worth £6.4m.  All a bit too rich for my blood at the moment.
• Mouseprice is a leading source of UK property market information online. Through the provision of comprehensive and up-to-date housing data, they aim to create a more transparent and thus more fair property market. Good going on these price increases.
• Their parent company Calnea Analytics is the statistical consultant to HM Land Registry and the creator of the official Land Registry House Price Index.