Halloween

Halloween is upon us in Central London and the over-pumpkined shop window displays are starting to appear before they morph seamlessly into their Christmas plumage.

These revolving annual  markers of time remind us that London is a constantly changing back-drop to the lives of its energetic  citizens, workers and visitors that are the principle drivers of  the enormous energy of our Capital.

Halloween, as the name suggests, is the day before All Saints’ Day and harks back to the slower  time when London and England  followed the religious calendar.

Today other things apart than ghosts and goblins fill my head in a constant buzz of issues governing the housing market. Some are scary, some less so.  In no particular order they are: Interest rates, property taxes, currency movements, commodity prices, European growth, Chinese growth, Crossrail, EU referendum, economic migration, oil price, overseas wars, PSBR, trade balance, GDP,  inflation, FTSE, Dow Jones,  bond yields, macro-economics, micro-economics…. You get the picture.

In the  shorter term prices are driven by supply and demand and somewhat steered by consumer confidence and Government policy. 

Unusually, this year there has been no appreciable Autumn pick-up in activity here in the West End. There has been a levelling off of the numbers of people looking to buy, especially from overseas, and a slight reduction in our buyer applicant levels. At the very  top end of the market these slowdowns are more appreciable but the sub £2m market remains reasonably  robust as it appeals to both domestic and international buyers.

The indications are that Prices are holding steady at these current levels and look set to remain here for a while.

Small to mid-size 2 bedroom flats seem the most sought after and such sales have been the mainstay of our activity this quarter.  I believe this may be partly explained by the fact that  there is a general cap to the price that can currently be achieved for one bedroom flats so smaller two bedroom flats start to look like better value and a more flexible investment for investors and end users alike.

We would be delighted to treat rather than trick you this Halloween and you would like to discuss any aspect of your property or potential purchase do please get in touch on 0207 405 1288 or email on clerkenwell@winkworth.co.uk