A Small Pocket of South London is Leading Home Sales Across England and Wales

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted a spree of property transactions across the U.K. as buyers seek more space and access to greenery, but nowhere has seen more deals this year than a pocket of Croydon on the southern edge of London, according to a report Monday from Keller Williams U.K. 

Across England and Wales there were 197,041 sales completed between January and May—the most recent data available—the estate agency said, which analyzed the figures on a postcode level. 

Home to 425 sales during that time, Croydon’s CR0 postcode was the most active of all.

The wider borough of Croydon, some 11 miles south of central London, saw prices rise 3.9% annually in July to an average of £465,731 (US$645,032), according to separate data from online property portal Rightmove. Despite the gains, the area remains among the capital’s more affordable locales.

On the south coast, Brighton and Hove’s BN3 postcode ranked as the second-busiest area with 395 sales.

On the outer edge of East London, E17 in Waltham Forest ranked third with 371 sales between January and May, the report said. 

Brighton’s BN1 postcode and BS16, which straddles Bristol and South Gloucestershire in the South West of England, rounded out the top-five list of most-active areas with 346 and 345 sales, respectively.

“We’ve heard a lot in recent months about how the stamp duty holiday has led to a huge uplift in property sales and while this is generally true, some areas will have seen a far greater number of homes sold than others,” Ben Taylor, CEO of Keller Williams U.K., said in the report.

The stamp duty holiday, introduced during the height of the pandemic last summer, scrapped the tax on the first £500,000 of a home purchase. The measure is being gradually phased out, and the maximum savings threshold halved to £250,000 at the end of June and will revert back to the standard £125,000 at the end of September.

“It’s impressive to see such a vast regional spread with the list comprising areas in London, the South West and the Midlands,” Mr. Taylor said. “That’s not to say that other regions aren’t putting in a strong performance and there’s no denying the impact of the stamp duty holiday has been felt pretty much across the board.”

https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/a-small-pocket-of-south-london-is-leading-home-sales-across-england-and-wales-01628545746

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