Agency says some London boroughs seeing record low transactions

A London estate agency’s analysis of the latest Land Registry data suggests transactions in the capital are the lowest ever recorded. 

Land Registry data for February shows there were just 55 transactions in the whole of the Westminster borough, which the Portico agency claims is the lowest ever number recorded by the registry’s open data - it’s 60 per cent lower even than in February 2009 immediately after the banking crisis broke.

The agency also claims that analysis of sales in the build-up to previous General Elections suggest transactions will remain sluggish until at least June. 

There were just 105 sales transactions in the south London borough of Wandsworth this February, compared to 370 the year before; and there were just 82 sales transactions recorded in the east London borough Redbridge in February, compared to 260 the year before. 

After the last election in 2015, Wandsworth and Westminster experienced a 28 per cent average increase in sales transactions in the three months post-election, and Redbridge saw a 34 per cent jump in activity.

“Volumes have dropped to historic lows, and Theresa May’s decision for a snap general election will further subdue the market. We are expecting to see some improvement in volume post-election, but at best we expect volume to track at five per cent down compared to summer 2016, when volumes failed to recover after the stamp duty changes” says Robert Nichols, Portico’s managing director.

Portico says that in 2015 house prices rose by 2.4 per cent in Wandsworth in the three months following the vote, 4.6 per cent in Redbridge and 1.7 per cent in Westminster. Similarly, in the aftermath of the election before that in 2010, property prices rose by 1.8 per cent in Wandsworth, 2.5 per cent in Redbridge and 19 per cent in Westminster.