Merhdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages at A&L, explained that the noticeable jump in applications was a clear indication of a recovery in the capital’s market since the latter part of June.
He said: “There has been plenty of activity across the capital both in terms of purchase and remortgage, and investors – with a particular buoyancy in the Hackney area, near to the Olympic village in East London.
“We’ve also seen a growing interest in Earlsfield in South London where there is an attractive price difference between properties there and its surrounding areas such as Wimbledon.”
“There is a feeling in London that potential buyers now think that house prices are plateauing. This is reinforced by the fact that there has been no significant growth in house prices there since June 2002.
“As a result we’ve seen evidence of more activity in properties worth £500,000 and over, when compared to this time last year and a modest growth at the bottom of the market for properties worth up to £250,000. Consumers and estate agents in London are both showing increasing signs of a growth in confidence, no doubt helped by the recent cut in interest rates,” he added.
London-based sole broker Roy New disagreed. He said: “I’ve experienced no move in the market at all this month; in fact it has been pretty dead. I’ve been doing a few commercial mortgages but very little else, so good luck to A&L.”
