Growth in house prices is continuing to stall

THERE are fears that a fresh slowdown in London property prices could be under way, with house price growth continuing to stall.

According to the latest official figures, the monthly rate of growth is nudging 0.5 per cent.

In May, the annual rate of growth was 4.7 per cent — down from 5.3 per cent in the year to April.

This took the average UK house price to £221,000 — though the current average first-time buyer house price stands at £207,693 — the highest on record.

Property market analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers have forecast that the annual rate of growth will slow to 3.7 per cent in 2017, with Capital Economics arguing that it could reach two per cent by the year’s end.

Earlier this month the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that the number of properties for sale per branch is at a record low, with the levels of new buyers and agreed sales also depressed, especially in London.

Hansen Lu of Capital Economics said this suggests that “a fresh slowdown could be under way in London”.