Our regular look at the current housing statistics never fails to disappoint and this month is certainly no exception. Asking prices in Kensington & Chelsea as recorded by Rightmove.co.uk are up 30% from what we thought was the peak of the market in 2008. The encouraging news is that there has not been a great increase from last year although the Land Registry records actual sale prices (for those that it can record) as being 20% up on the same time last year.
What is staggering is the increase in the number of properties sold for more than £2m. Remember that the Land Registry does not have a complete picture at this level as they exclude deals that involve a company (which many at this level do) and what they describe as ‘exceptional’ sales. We therefore don’t know if the record sale in Belgrave Square is included but we suspect not.
A 76% increase in these über-sales on 2008 is impressive enough if it weren’t for the fact that as we reported last year, in fact the largest gain has been in the past 12 months where sales jumped 219%!
The drop in sales nationwide compared to the peak (in 2007 for the country as a whole) confirms reports that, whilst stock of new homes coming onto the market is up (56%) on last year, demand from buyers who can actually perform is only up a modest amount (15%) by comparison.
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