Homes in Greater London have risen year-on-year for the first time in two years with new seller asking prices 1.3% higher.

The latest data from Rightmove reveals house prices in Greater London are 1.3% higher year-on-year for the first time since August 2017 and average prices of £617,208.

London is starting a recovery process with seller asking prices higher across the capital and inner London with a 2.0% rise although outer London remains sluggish higher by 0.4% for the year.

Miles Shipside Rightmove director said, the number of sales agreed for the month is up by 5.2% on the same period a year ago and is the largest annual percentage increase seen at this time of year since July 2017.

Large changes across London Boroughs

The overall picture shows an increase year-on-year although in many Boroughs house prices continue to fall leaving many first time buyers and home movers waiting until the bottom of the market is reached.

The following table from the Rightmove shows average house prices and annual change for London homeowners to August 2019.

Borough	House Price	Annual change
Southwark	£649,041	2.0%
Newham	£419,129	1.6%
Bromley	£537,454	1.3%
Kingston on Thames	£467,89	1.3%
Greenwich	£516,750	0.9%
Hackney	£459,796	0.9%
Waltham Forest	£699,794	0.6%
Brent	£445,636	0.5%
Haringey	£569,833	0.3%
Hammersmith and Fulham	£613,718	0.2%

The London borough of Southwark has the highest rise up 2.0% for the year in seller asking price with an average property value of £649,041.

At the other end Merton has seen house prices lower by -7.2% year-on-year with property values of £596,646 and Tower Hamlets with prices lower by -5.2% followed by Hillingdon down -3.3%.

Lower seller asking prices may be an opportunity for buy-to-let landlords looking to improve rental yields in boroughs outside the capital.

Remortgage buyers at the end of their mortgage deal are likely to switch to a preferential rate and stay in their current home while asking prices are falling in the borough.

Seller asking prices remain high

Miles Shipside said, we nearly always see quite big falls in new seller asking prices in the month of August, but this year they have only dropped by a fraction at just 0.1% down.

With first time buyers and home movers distracted by holidays, sellers must be keen on price and the improved results are partly due to a severe lack of properties on the market.

With new sellers down 10.5% when compared to a year ago, buyers are facing a very limited choice which is underpinning prices taking 68 days to complete the sale.

Over the month second steppers have seen average asking prices fall -2.5% from £701,235 in July to £683,439 whereas property values at the top of the ladder have increased 4.3% averaging £1.423m.

In terms of transport zones for London, homes in Zone 3 have seen asking prices rise 2.8% over the year with property values of £581,092 followed by Zone 2 rising 1.8% with values of £727,615.

For older people with property in these London Zones, the equity release buyer can access cash using a lifetime mortgage to improve your quality of life, holidays or home improvements.

What are your next steps?

Talk to our London City Mortgage brokers for advice if you remortgage your existing home and want the best mortgage deal or release capital, buying your first home, moving home or a buy-to-let investor.

Learn more by using the equity release mortgage calculator, mortgage cost calculators, and property value tracker chart. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.

For older homeowners releasing equity from your property, our LCM mortgage advisers can recommend the lifetime mortgage, accessing wealth for holidays of a lifetime or pay university fees for grandchildren.