Quincy News: London’s Long Housing Boom Is Over

– News from elsewhere covered by Quincy Quarry News.

Bubble looking to burst?
Image via Bloomberg
London’s long housing boom is over – Is a bust coming?

After years of steady – if not also heady – increases in housing prices, London homes are taking longer to find buyers.

Factors include that a considerable proportion of London homes were bought by international buyers in recent years.

International buyers made more than half of home purchases in prime central London districts and almost a third in greater London during the second half of 2017, according to broker Hamptons International.

Look out below?
A barrons.com image
In turn, as many of these overseas buyers as well as British investors then opt to rent out their purchases, they have become an increasingly important part of the London market over the past decade as they have been lured to invest given higher returns from rental property during a time of low interest rates.

Lately, however, interest rates have been increasing.

“The party is over for the London housing market and the hangover is just beginning,” said Neal Hudson, founder of research firm Residential Analysts. “Lower demand due to Brexit or interest-rate rises could put further pressure on some home-owners and investors to sell.”