London Homeowners Test the Waters in Brexit-Hit Housing Market

(Bloomberg) -- Asking prices for London homes rose this month as owners tested a fragile market before the spring selling season.

Values gained 3.4 percent from January to 614,182 pounds ($788,000), property-website Rightmove said in a report published Monday. The seasonal boost still left asking prices in the capital 2.1 percent lower than a year earlier.

“It obviously remains to be seen if these new sellers can find interest from prospective buyers,” said Miles Shipside, director at Rightmove. “Buyers will be attracted by newly marketed property costing less than a year ago, but will also be trying to judge whether to negotiate a deal now or hold on until there is more political certainty.”

London has been hit the hardest by the chaos surrounding Britain's departure from the European Union, with official data showing prices fell last year for the first time since the financial crisis. While property prices are still rising on a country-wide level, the market has slowed considerably from much faster growth a few years ago.

National house prices rose 0.7 percent on the month and are up 0.2 percent from a year ago, Rightmove reported. The data is compiled from 106,343 properties put on sale by agents across the country from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Swint in London at bswint@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Andrew Atkinson, David Goodman

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