London property price boom is slowing, says Savills

London property price boom is slowing, says Savills

Upmarket estate agency says many families have cashed in and decamped either to the home counties or moved eastwards across capital.

Upmarket estate agent Savills says the rampant price growth for homes in London has been slowing and that many families are selling up and moving into the home counties.

Savills' chief executive, Jeremy Helsby, said that rising numbers of people are cashing in and moving out of the capital into Surrey and Kent, and as far out as Cambridge and Oxford – as he himself has done. "People are selling up in London – they've had a very strong rise over the last two to three years – especially families with kids who decide they can't get the right schools and want more space."

Contract exchanges outside London are up 20%, helping Savills post a 15% rise in pre-tax profits to £24.7m for the first half of the year. The estate agent raised its half-year dividend by 7% to 3.75p a share. Savills, which is based in Mayfair, conducted twice as many sales outside the capital than within, although in revenue terms its business is still skewed towards London where values remain much higher.

Article worth a read - http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/07/london-property-price-boom-slowing-savills