Home sales down by 50%, new London figures show

01 August 2008

The number of property transactions being carried out in London is now 50 per cent lower than last year, a leading estate agents in the capital has confirmed.

With prices continuing to fall in all sectors of the market apart from the £2 million and above homes, people are shying away from upgrading or moving to a more spacious place, the new figures from Knight Frank show.

And, with average prices having fallen for the third month in a row in July, it looks likely that this trend is set to continue for the foreseeable future.

"The situation is unlikely to change until the mortgage market eases and the economic outlook improves," commented Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank.

"Therefore, further price falls are probable - confined to single figures if the market begins to ease, but potentially more significant if the global outlook deteriorates." he added.

Anyone putting off moving to a bigger place due to the situation of the market should look into the option of safe storage, at least until things pick up again.



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