London house prices fall.

London house prices fell month on month in October, making the city the only UK region to report a decline.

Prices in the capital fell 0.9 per cent compared with September, while there was a 0.3 per cent increase across the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics.
House prices increased 0.9 per cent or more in the north-east of England, West Midlands and Scotland.
Lawrence Bowles, director of research at the real estate company Savills, said the London decline could be explained by the capital being far more reliant on mortgage debt than the rest of the country, with average loan-to-income ratios and total mortgage costs far higher.
Mortgage rates have surged in the past few months, reflecting expectations of higher medium-term borrowing costs, as the Bank of England tries to tackle high inflation.
Data from mortgage provider Nationwide showed that the average mortgage payment rose to 56 per cent of earnings in the third quarter in London, up from a recent low of 48 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, and well above the national average of 34 per cent.
ONS data showed that house prices fell 1.5 per cent in Lewisham, a London borough with one of the largest shares of mortgage buyers, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Nationally, prices rose 12.6 per cent compared with October 2021.
House price growth in London has underperformed the national average since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, triggered by people moving out of the capital in search of more space, and this has continued since the economy reopened.
UK average house prices are 27 per cent above pre-pandemic levels of February 2020 — more than double the 13 per cent rise registered in London.

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