House sales in London have plummeted by almost a third in the past year, driven by increases in stamp duty and Brexit uncertainty.
According to the latest Your Move house price index, house sales in April have fallen 29% in the past year.
The London market has been severely hit by various increases in stamp duty over the last few years. This is because as house prices are far higher, buyers have to pay more.
Sharply rising house prices have also outpaced wage increases in the capital, making it even more difficult for buyers.
Experts also believe the market has cooled as buyers are also holding off as a result of Brexit.
Prices continue to rise, up 2.7% in the year to April 2017. However, this is the second lowest annual rise seen in London since March 2012.
The average price in the capital at the end of April stood at £615,838 – up 0.1% on the month before.
Despite the overall slowdown in the London market, prime property in the capital is no longer suffering the worst of this.
Over the year, the best performing borough was Haringey, with prices up 12.5%. Islington had performed worst, with prices down 10.4%.
Across the the UK average prices are up 0.3% to £303,200, with the value of the average home increasing £13,934 in the last 12 months.
Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “The market remains resilient and there’s encouraging activity in the North, but we need to urgently address the serious blockages in house building holding back labour mobility and economic competitiveness in too many areas of the country.”
Blake said that now the election was over, it was time for the government to focus on meeting its manifesto promises by building more homes and addressing issues in relation to the lettings market.
Other reports have showed a slowdown in activity.
According to the latest Halifax House Price Index, annual house price growth eased to 3.3% in May, down from 3.8% in April.
Meanwhile, data from HM Revenue and Customs shows that the number of residential property transactions fell by 3.2% to 99,910 between March and April.
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