Slowdown ‘may be levelling off’

The latest report from Black Brick property solutions has found that there could be some good news for property prices amidst the doom and gloom. It points out that figures from the Land Registry showed a 1.5% fall in house price sin October compared with falls of 2% in the precious two months, while Nationwide reported a drop of 0.4% for November which was significantly lower than the 1.3% fall recorded in October.

Prime Central London property is unquestionably in the eye of the storm, the report also notes, saying that annual growth was now at a staggering -14.3%, the lowest rate since 1977, while even super prime property saw declines at the end of the summer.

However, London remains a diverse market says Black Brick. While prices in Hackney, Lambeth and Lewisham fell by as much as 3% in December, Westminster saw a drop of just 0.3%. Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank commented: ‘As many prime properties are unique and only occasionally come up for sale, we believe activity will increase as overseas buyers realise the home they have had their eye on for some time is now available at a much reduced price.’

As the appeal of London endures in comparison to, say, Dubai, Black Brick are looking forward to a resurgence in 2009. Camilla Dell Managing Director of Black Brick said: ‘We are taking calls on a daily basis from existing and prospective clients wanting to know if this is the right time to jump back into the market. And we are already seeing investment buyers signing exceptional deals that in six months’ time will be harder to find.’