The major agents are split on projections for UK house price growth, with JLL betting on London while Savills is looking to the regions for growth.
JLL has predicted that house prices in Greater London will grow by 17% in the next five years.
It expects central London prices to grow by 18.2% over the period, with prime central London properties rising by 15.4%.
The agent said after five years of falling prices prime central London will rebound as buyers and vendors who have held back finally make a return to the market.
JLL expects a quick bounce-back for central London new-build development, with renewed owner-occupier demand, investor return and a preference for new over old.
It predicts that Greater London will have the highest five-year growth of any UK region.
The forecast compares with Savills’ prediction of just 4% growth in London over five years, being the lowest growth rate of any UK region. However, it did point to an uptick for prime central London, which it expects to rise by 20.5% over five years.
This is dragged down by London’s mainstream market, which is expected to continue to underperform owing to pressures of affordability.
Instead, Savills points to the North for growth. It said house prices in the North West are likely to rise by 24% over five years, following on from a surge of 4% this year.
This was followed by Yorkshire & the Humber at 21.6%.
Savills said growth in these regions reflects the strength of local economies, for example in Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, and the capacity for higher loan-to-income borrowing for buyers.
CBRE has not issued house price forecasts, but a recent London spotlight report said it expects a boost of 10% over the next five years.
Overall, Savills was more optimistic, predicting UK-wide growth of 15.3% over five years, compared with 14.8% from JLL.
Party pledges
The forecasts come just weeks before voters take to the polls, with each party touting a range of housing initiatives.
Last week, Labour proposed a £75bn social housing drive, a Help to Buy reform for first-time buyers and a levy on overseas companies buying housing.
The Conservative Party has since hit back with threats of a 3% surcharge for foreign buyers and plans to decrease housing supply from current targets of 300,000 a year to 200,000 a year.
JLL said future stamp duty changes, affecting domestic and overseas buyers, would have a marginal impact on forecasts.
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