‘Brexit fatigue’ spurs buying and selling of London homes, leading to asking prices posting their first annual increase in two years
- New seller prices were up 1.3 per cent from a year earlier
- August saw the largest number of sales nationwide in four years
Asking prices for London homes showed their first annual increase since 2017 this month, as the Brexit-battered market started to show signs of life.
New seller prices were up 1.3 per cent from a year earlier, property website Rightmove Plc said in a report published Monday. They eased just 0.1 per cent on the month, the smallest decline for any August since 2006.
Rightmove said a shortage of supply is helping to underpin prices, with the number of new sellers down almost 11 per cent on the year. Meanwhile, sales agreements jumped in what is normally a slow month, suggesting buyers and sellers alike are now taking the plunge after years of waiting for Brexit to be resolved.
“It’s been three years since the vote and Brexit fatigue has kicked in,” Chris Osmond, sales director at London-based estate agent JOHNS&CO, said in a comment accompanying the report.
“After all, life goes on and you can only put plans on hold for so long. We’ve also seen the number of vendors wanting to cash in on long-held investments increase.”
