Demand for UK property down 8% since February, new data shows

Demand for homes in the UK has dropped by 8% since February with London seeing an even bigger fall of 28%, according to the latest property hotspots index review.

It also shows that within London the borough of Westminster has suffered the most from the real estate slowdown with demand down 42% while Glasgow has seen the greatest increase in demand.

The index from online estate agent eMoov monitors the change in supply and demand for the most populated locations across the UK, by monitoring the total number of properties sold in comparison to those on sale.

Another area in London where demand is falling is the Olympic Village in Stratford where demand in the four London Boroughs that straddle the development have fallen steadily. Hackney has seen demand fall by 36%, Tower Hamlets and Newham dropped by 35% and 33% respectively and in Waltham Forest it is down 24%.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the South East, the London Borough of Bexley came out top with a 71% demand for property while at 67% Reading has had the second highest demand for property of all UK Hotspots, with Brentwood and Hillingdon also placing in the top 10 with a 60% demand for property.

The firm suggests that this highlights the change the proposed Cross Rail development is having on towns due to benefit from its extension, as the commute to London will become significantly easier as a result.

Sutton at 65%, Watford at 64%, Guildford at 63% and Medway at 56% also made the top 10 as commuter friendly towns close to the capital. Elsewhere around the country Bristol was at number six but demand for property in the West Country city has still fallen by 3% since February. Brighton also made the top 10 with demand for property at 62%.

Demand for property in Scotland as a whole is up by 5% since February and the capital Edinburgh came 49th out of Britain’s hot spots, the highest of the Scottish entries. It was however Glasgow that has witnessed the most drastic turn around, demand in Scotland’s second city rose by a total of 28% since February, the biggest change across the whole of Britain.

Demand for property in Hull has risen 26% over the year closely followed by Doncaster and Bradford at 25%. Even Liverpool has enjoyed an increase of 9% in demand however not all of the major players from the North have enjoyed the same success. Demand in Leeds has dropped by 5% since February, Newcastle has dropped by 8% and demand in Manchester fell by 14%.

In the East Midlands Derby come out on top with demand up by 3% in comparison to its rivals. At 36% it placed 43rd in the table, 10 places higher than Nottingham and 12 places higher than Leicester.

Birmingham has remained almost static in its demand for property throughout the year, however as with London there has been a rise in the popularity of its surrounding areas. Coventry and Solihull both ranked higher for December demand than Birmingham although Solihull has suffered a decrease of 4% over the year as a whole. Demand in Coventry over the year has surpassed Birmingham and risen by 4%, this has increased even further in Wolverhampton at 15% and there was an 18% increase in Walsall.

‘Our latest data goes to show that the property market in London has cooled right down, most notably in Westminster. People are starting to sacrifice the London lifestyle and opt for areas further out to commuter zones. But who can blame them with the advancements in transport making the commute to London easier,’ said Russell Quirk chief executive officer of eMoov.

‘This is evident with the ripple effect that’s spreading across the surrounding areas and even to the North with a staggering number of Northern locations enjoying a rise in demand. Although demand in December alone may have been lower in comparison to the South, overall the call for property in the North is increasing far greater than down South,’ he explained.

‘It’s also interesting to see those spots that may have declined in demand over the course of the year, but are very much growing in demand in the last month or so. What will be even more interesting is when the next set of data is revealed whether or not the changes in Stamp Duty Tax have made a difference and which areas have benefitted most. Our prediction is the demand for property up North will continue to increase and London will continue to drop and possibly even stagnate,’ he added.