The sub-£100,000 London home is on the brink of extinction and looks set to disappear within months.
There are only about 20 mainstream properties on the market for “five figures”, an analysis of estate agents listings has revealed.
The cheapest house for sale in Greater London through an agent rather than at auction is believed to be a £65,000 one-bed flat in a block in Woolwich which is on a 53-year lease and “requires updating”.
A handful more are due to be sold at auction with guide prices below £100,000 — although many end up fetching far more than that. There are also 13 retirement-only sheltered homes and six houseboats on the market in that bracket.
Several dozen more properties are advertised at less than £100,000 but the small print reveals that this is on a shared ownership basis.
In total there are about 50,000 homes advertised as for sale on the Rightmove website, which has the most comprehensive coverage.
The analysis follows the publication of Land Registry figures showing that only 28 flats and houses changed hands for less than £100,000 in January, the last month for which figures are available. This was down from 76 in January last year and compares with 412 homes which sold for more than £1 million.
It is only 16 years since the average property price for London as a whole went over the £100,000 mark. Since then values have quadrupled.
Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “While this may be good news for owners, it will be less good news for anyone aspiring to buy their first home. The bottom end of the market has moved even further out of view.”
The disappearance of the £100,000 home also means that nearly every buyer in London will be subject to stamp duty, which kicks in at the one per cent lowest rate at £125,000. Naomi Heaton, chief executive of property investment firm London Central Portfolio Ltd (LCP), said: “Stamp Duty is the most iniquitous tax. When the tax was introduced it was never intended to be a tax on the ‘every-man’ but now it is just another way for the taxman to dip into our pockets.”
