Thu 19 Jun 2008
South-eastern property market outperforms London
The south-east’s property market outperformed the whole of the UK, including Greater London, in 2007, according to new research from Knight Frank.This was despite regional sales activity falling by 14% due to the wider economic downturn in 2007’s final quarter. Demand is continuing to exceed supply in the region, which experienced 7% of capital growth last year the report found. This market should experience at best only small price falls throughout 2008.
Developers who are continuing to thrive in the region are dealing with top-end sites, or are producing design-led properties with a sense of place, the report noted.
“The market is showing that quality, quality, quality is now the adage of the day, rather than location, location, location,” said Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s head of residential research. “Now the investor-led model of the old market is broken, the power has switched to the buyer, who aside from location uses quality as a means to differentiate between competing schemes.
“However, the sustainability issue may increasingly be seen as a luxury that diverts the industry from the real problem of our housing shortage. This is something the government needs to address.”
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