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Although Cluttons is active in several territories around the world, within the UK it has only 13 London offices (mostly prime central ones) plus outposts in Brighton and Oxford. Its research team is headed by Sue Foxley.
Its headline forecasts are:
- current London price growth is unsustainable and in 2014 will slow to 4.0 per cent in prime central London and 3.5 per cent in Greater London;
- there will be an average annualised growth approaching four per cent across London over the next five years, although some locations (notably those that have seen lower than average price rises this year) may outperform this;
- central London rents will rise by three to four per cent 2014 with an annualised average rent increase of just over four per cent to the end of 2017;
- rental sharers are increasing in number and extending outside the traditional student and young professional groups, reflecting growing interest in saving on housing costs.
Cluttons says some 35 per cent of London tenants are suffering ‘house price anxiety’ andf are actively seeking to purchase a home in a bid to avoid future price rises; 17 per cent say Help to Buy is a factor.
“While overseas investors dominate the headlines, it is Londoners living and working in the capital who are the mainstay of the market” says Foxley.
“It’s encouraging to be approaching the end of the year with greater buoyancy in the market but the pace of price growth in the residential market is pushing home ownership further out of reach for large numbers of those living and working in London. The pace of growth will inevitably slow, but with the spectre of rising interest rates over the medium term, life in the capital will remain a challenge” she says.
You can see all the recent forecasts for 2014 and beyonds by clicking on Latest Posts or Archive.
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