Rightmove: 'London prices begin to cool'

The latest report from Rightmove suggests that the housing market in London could be cooling, meaning that landlords could soon be able to buy reasonably-priced property in the capital.

Figures show that, for the first time since December 2006, monthly price rises in the capital's property market have been less than those seen in more than half the other regions in the country.

Equally, the typical price rise in London was 0.7 per cent, below the national average of 0.8 per cent.

Despite this, Rightmove argue that prices in London are likely to continue to increase in the future because high-end property demand should not be affected by interest rate increases.

Throughout the country, Rightmove found that there was more housing available on the market, with the result that the demand for property in many regions is struggling to keep pace with supply.

"More property available is good news for buyers, as sellers that need to sell urgently will have to drop their price," explained Miles Shipside, the company's commercial director.

"Ironically those that sought to save a few hundred pounds by avoiding Hips have contributed to a glut of property on the market which will actually cost them money as they will have to discount their prices to sell."

Recently, Knight Frank reported that it only expects the value of premium London properties to increase by 20 per cent this year, as opposed to the 29 per cent growth experienced in 2006.