As viewed by a property consultancy firm, Knight Frank, the high-end London property market appears to have slowed down and will stay that way for some time as extra costs increase the price of a luxury home.
According to CNBC, Alistair Elliott, Chairman of Knight Frank, has said that the rise in the price for high-end homes has "just stalled the market" in Hong Kong and Singapore. He also said that stamp duty increases in the U.K. are "leading to a more stagnant market at the top end". Aside from London, Knight Frank's offices have also observed some cooling-off in Asia-Pacific regions as China's slowing economic growth, and property cooling measures affect other Asian countries following the period with prices at the top of the market in London increased by double digits at every year due to increased investment from foreign buyers aside from domestic money.
Furthermore, Knight Frank was said to have reported a 19 percent increase in pre-tax revenues to £162 million for the 1st quarter of the year ending March 31, with sales up by 13pc to £443.1 million for the same period. Elliot said, "There was bound to be a period of cooling, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
"The fundamental issue in the mid-term is supply, and the Stamp Duty at one end is not going to increase supply at the other. We've got to introduce more affordable homes. The only way this is going to be addressed properly is by more government influence.
"There has been a massive build-up of investment capital, and increasingly that capital has seen property as its right home.
Elliot has also noted that the level interest from foreign investors in London residential property has also cooled-off. He remarked, "Where there is strife, the first thing we see is there is a flight of capital to safe havens. The mid-term is likely to be that people slow down."
