The London Barometer March 2010

Sales: March 2010
"With prices rising by an average of 5.5% in the first quarter of 2010, Central London property has now risen by 20% since the beginning of 2009. With the General Election date announced as May 6th there will inevitably be a pause in activity but, rather perversely, a hung parliament may well be the catalyst for a further surge in prime Central London values. The perception will be that a coalition government will not have the power to instigate a strong recovery package and this will bring renewed pressure of the value of the pound. Even though prices have recovered by 20%, international investors will see the cost of accommodation in London falling to them.

Even if one of the main parties achieves an overall majority, it seems likely that the pound will remain fairly depressed compared with other currencies and we expect prime Central London to outperform the outlying areas in Douglas & Gordon's market such as Battersea, Clapham, Fulham etc."

Lettings: March 2010
"Rental values are picking up strongly with robust demand meeting lagging supply. Rental values have increased by 7.7% in the first quarter of 2010 across Douglas & Gordon's London lettings offices. The supply of property available on the lettings market has contracted year on year by 57% whilst applicant demand has increased by 15% year on year. Where have all the properties gone? It seems likely that the hangover of the chronic sales market in 2008 when many potential vendors became "accidental landlords" is over and these properties have been withdrawn from the lettings market and sold, but few have been picked up by potential landlords."