Wait for it

5 June 2009 By George Hay Follow @gfhay

After falling 24%, the central London housing market has picked up. Supply has increased. Affluent buyers with fat deposits are exploiting supercheap mortgages. There is anecdotal evidence of sealed bids and gazumping. But a sustained period of growth looks unlikely.

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After reaching a peak in March 2008 prime central London residential property prices fell 23.9% to March 2009, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.

Since then, prices have risen 0.4% in April and 1.6% in May.

Meanwhile, the proportion of disposable earnings devoted to mortgage payments has fallen significantly in the last 18 months, according to the Halifax building society.

Typical mortgage payments for a new borrower in Greater London have fallen from a peak of 56% in the third quarter of 2007 to 34% in the first quarter of 2009.

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