London house prices to fall next year, Cebr predicts
London house prices are expected to decline next year as Prime Minister Theresa May plans to trigger Article 50 of the formal Brexit process, according to a top economics consultancy.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research predicts house prices will drop 5.6% in 2017 in the city.
Across the UK as a whole, house prices are forecast to slow to 2.6% growth next year from 6.9% this year.
Cebr said uncertainty surrounding Brexit negotiations is likely to weigh on the market after the Prime Minister said she plans to invoke Article 50 by March next year.
Investors are worried about a so-called hard Brexit, which could see the UK give up membership of the Europe’s single market for goods and services to regain control of immigration.
“Nervousness and uncertainty are starting to show,” said Kay Daniel Neufeld, an economist at Cebr. “We expect to see house-price growth across the UK slowing considerably in the fourth quarter of 2016, a trend that is set to continue in 2017.”