Market sees "green shoots" - Marsh & Parsons
18 February 2009
The first “green shoots” of a spring recovery are appearing in the London property market, according to estate agents Marsh & Parsons.
Managing director Peter Rollings claimed that the market was “very close to or had even reached the bottom”, as over 1,000 new buyers had registered in January, most with deposits of 20% or more, and that so far this year, the agency had seen double the number of agreed sales compared to the same period in 2008.
Other reasons were that a flat in Holland Park had attracted 35 prospective buyers, and that London prices were back to 2004 levels after falling 25-30%.
“It’s worth noting that since 1945, property prices have appreciated by 174% in any ten-year period,” Rollings commented. “I don’t know for certain whether we have reached the bottom however – what I do know is that in two years London property prices will be higher than they are now and in five years they will be substantially higher.”
Knight Frank’s prime central London index showed that viewings in Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea were up 80% on a year-on-year basis.
But last month, Hometrack’s head of research Richard Donnell warned industry not to read too much into reports of increased buyer interest.
