London property prices fell after the Brexit vote, but not as much as some might expected.
If only one thing is certain since the UK voted to leave the European Union (Brexit), it is that property prices, especially in the City of London, were set to decline. August saw a sharp decline in activity, but not all deals were suspended. The market may prove more resilient than expected.
According to Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics, August saw a fall in properties changing hands to £1.5 billon ($1.9 billion) from a monthly average of £2.5 billion in the previous six months. “That is not a massive reason to be panicking,” Stansfield says, adding that after a particularly buoyant 2015, it is normal to see a slowdown.
A positive sign for the UK property market was the decision by Wells Fargo in July to buy a large property for its new European headquarters with a “retrade” or reversal in the property price. Wells Fargo paid approximately £300 million for the office development in London, around 2% less than the price that was quoted before the Brexit vote on June 23.
