London property sales market view

The mood has changed......

There's a palpable feeling that the worst is over in the London sales market. At least that's the view from Chard Notting Hill Gate estate agents, South Kensington estate agents, Brook Green estate agents and Fulham estate agents.

Enquiries are up a whopping 43% this week compared to April. Buyers seem to be sensing that they need to get in before prices rise again. Concurrent to this, sales prices have become more realistic, they've had to be as there's been enough stock coming on to the London property sales market to give buyers a choice for the first time in at least three years.

Interest rate cuts, with rumours of another 0.25% reduction in the BoE lending rate, have certainly done nothing to dampen this renewed confidence. The weather's been better too - never a bad thing when you're selling property!

We're seeing more caution from lenders, which we see a positive sign. 100% mortgages were virtually unknown to estate agents selling property in Kensington and Chelsea in any case. Lenders are still lending, a fact overlooked by the press obsessed with price reductions outside the capital, but now only to borrowers that any reasonable person would believe capable of re-paying the money!

Whilst those of us on the shop floor of London estate agency are not sounding the "all clear" just yet, the outlook is looking far more assured than at Christmas time. If prices have remained relatively stable despite the news of the last 6 months, the reasoning now seems to be that they will at least remain so. If you're thinking of buying a property in Central London, now might just be the time to act.