London house prices rocket 10% in just one month!

House prices in London have jumped by 10 per cent in the last month alone, according to data from Rightmove.
The data shows prices in the capital have risen by £50,484, on average, to £544,232 since mid-September. Within prime inner London, the average price of a home now stands at £937,110, while the average price of London’s outer boroughs is now £461,937.
Rightmove director and housing market analyst Miles Shipside attributes the rapid rise to a return of sellers to the market after a slow summer led to pent-up demand.
Shipside says: “Fewer sellers coming to market in the capital during the traditional summer recess resulted in total price falls of 4.3% over August and September. However, this month’s rebound in the number of sellers brings the quarterly growth figure back into line with the recent trend at around 2% a month.
”Although not sustainable in the longer term, some agents currently report there is a buying frenzy in parts of prime inner London, with available stock so low that their shelves are now bare. Unsurprisingly, many of this month’s best performers are boroughs in inner London.”
The national average house price reached £252,418 in October, after a rise 2.8 per cent in the last month and 3.8 per cent annually. However, these figures include London.
London’s recent rapid house price growth has led some to suggest Help to Buy should ignore London, or that the £600,000 limit should be lowered to around £300,000, therefore ruling out a lot of London properties and helping to avoid a house price bubble emerging.
However, London & Country mortgage specialist David Hollingworth says: “If you are a first-time buyer in London, you could argue that you are one of the most in need of the Help to Buy scheme.
“Existing homeowners will have seen their equity grow as a result of these price rises so they will have more options, including moving out of London and capitalising on the growth they’ve seen. But these numbers are scary and will lead to people questioning whether the market is losing control of itself.”