Record number of homes for sale in London

THE stock of unsold London homes under construction has risen to a record as developers ramp up supply further – despite a housing market smothered by higher taxes and economic uncertainty.

The number of properties being built or completed that have yet to find a buyer rose to 12,952, from 12,601 at the end of last year, according to a report by Molior London seen by Bloomberg News.

That’s the biggest surplus since the same research firm began compiling the data in 2009. Based on current sales rates, it will take 1.3 years to clear the excess supply, the longest period since 2010, the report showed.

A spokesman for Molior declined to comment.

“The disconnect between construction starts and sales is a concern,” Molior analysts wrote, noting that the greatest gap exists in the £1,000-1,499 per-square-foot price bracket.

“For £1,500-plus per square foot, starts have consistently beaten sales since 2012. While the difference narrowed during 2016, there has been a sharp uptick in surplus starts during 2017,” they wrote.

New construction starts continued to outstrip sales by about a quarter, even as sales of new and under-construction London homes jumped 24pc in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to the company’s report.

The increased housing surplus on the London market comes as a mix of higher tax, lower affordability and Brexit-linked nervousness causes home prices in Britain’s capital to fall at their fastest pace since the financial crisis. (Bloomberg)