House prices are dropping across London – but people are still having to leave to buy
Property prices in the UK are on the rise once more – but that’s not the case in all areas of London, with some boroughs showing an annual decrease.
Despite this, many Londoners are still struggling to get on the property ladder in the capital, forcing them to leave the city to buy elsewhere, or remain part of the forever-renters community.
Nationwide data on people who had moved house in the last five years also showed a marginally higher rate of people leaving cities for small towns or rural areas, compared to those coming into cities.
Toby Leek, NAEA Propertymark president, told The Independent: “London remains a highly attractive and aspirational place for many people to move to, and though house price growth is slowing, many aspiring homeowners are struggling to step onto the region’s housing market due to a myriad of factors.
“These include the growing disparity in house prices and wage growth, with the average home across the Greater London area costing around £680,000 and the average wage sitting at around £48,000, meaning buying a home costs over 14 times the average income.
“Also contributing to this struggle that many buyers are facing is the increased stamp duty thresholds from April this year, a shortage of supply triggered by slow rates of development, and higher interest rates than those traditionally used to, making mortgaging a property more difficult.”
Land registry data showing London borough house prices over the last 12 months reveals that while the city-wide trend might remain on the up, there’s a clear divide between central areas and boroughs on the outskirts.
While house prices in areas like Lewisham, Redbridge and Havering are up between 8 and 9 per cent over the past year, more central boroughs such as Greenwich, Camden and Wandsworth are down between 2.4 and 4.5 per cent.
For Islington it’s more than 8 per cent lower, Kensington and Chelsea is 15 per cent down, and Westminster is a full 20.1 per cent below last year.
Sellers are having to accept average discounts of nearly 10 per cent to the asking price, while Coutts bank said 82 per cent of properties in prime London sold for below the asking price between January and March this year, per the Telegraph.
And that isn’t always limited to those traditionally higher-end locations.
“It’s not just wealthy buyers that are reconsidering their options. Mortgage rates may be easing but with stamp duty costs now higher, wage growth starting to slow and living costs still on the climb, affordability remains a challenge for Londoners whose finances are already constrained by sky-high rents,” Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Bestinvest, told The Independent.
“Homeowners in the capital typically see a larger proportion of their income swallowed up by mortgage payments than their counterparts elsewhere in the country. Plus, with most personal tax thresholds on hold, which results in people paying higher rates of tax as their income increases, it can make sense for people to relocate to cheaper parts of the UK to make life more affordable.
“The pandemic has radically shifted workers’ perception of what a healthy work-life balance is. Rather than commuting across a city every day, people can now head into the office once a week or even once a month. It therefore makes more sense for some to live in a larger property in a quieter, cheaper part of the country than trying to squeeze a family into a one- or two-bedroom flat.
“It seems having a higher disposable income to cover everyday bills with enough spare money to go on holiday once a year and save for the future may now be more important than proximity to the office.”
Regardless of location, Bank of England data showed that the number of mortgages approved by UK lenders for home purchases dropped again in April – a third consecutive drop of net residential mortgage approvals.
With interest rates now not expected to drop below 4 per cent until the end of this year, if at all, buyers and those looking to remortgage alike may be considering taking the plunge, having been holding off until now due to declining rates in 2025.
Killer who buried wife under shed for 23 years asked son to dig her up
A “callous” father who murdered his wife and hid her body under a patio for 23 years asked their son to dig her up and send a hair to police in an audacious plot to clear his own name.
Andrew Griggs, who is already serving a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years for killing devoted mother-of-three Debbie Griggs, has been jailed for three more years after he tried to manipulate one of their sons into exhuming her body from prison.
The former fisherman, 62, was convicted of Ms Griggs’ murder in 2019 following a cold case investigation into her disappearance in 1999, after she vanished while she was three months pregnant with their fourth child. Her body had never been found.
Despite maintaining his innocence, he later revealed to his son in a prison visit that her remains were sealed in a water butt buried under the concrete base of a shed at his home in Dorset.
He instructed him to dig it up, remove a strand of her hair, take it abroad and post it back to the UK with a letter pretending to be from Ms Griggs to prove she was still alive.
Specialist officers and staff excavated the back garden of his home in St Leonards, Dorset, in October 2022.
Her body was found in a barrel-shaped container wrapped in blue tarpaulin under the base of what had previously been a lean-to shed. Also inside were clothes along with a pillowcase, duvet and a boot liner matching one missing from the mother’s Peugeot 306.
It is believed Griggs wrapped the clothing he was wearing when he killed the former nurse in the boot liner before placing them on top of her inside the container.
When Griggs was interviewed about the discovery, he declined to answer any questions but delivered a pre-prepared statement in which he still maintained he was not responsible for Ms Grigg’s death.
He claimed he found a body inside a container in someone else’s garden around two years after he had reported her missing.
He said he panicked and encased the container in fibreglass before someone else buried it, and although he suspected it was beneath his garden shed he did not know for sure.
Griggs was charged with perverting the course of justice, which he later admitted, and obstructing a coroner in the execution of their duty.
In a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday he was ordered to serve an additional three years in prison.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber said Griggs’ lies and attempt to recruit a family member to clear his own name are an “insult” to the mother’s memory.
“Debbie Griggs was a devoted mother whose love for her three children was never in doubt, and it is inconceivable that she would have ever walked out on them,” he said.
“Her husband Andrew has known this ever since he first reported her missing, by which point he had already brutally murdered Debbie and hidden her body. He then continued to lie and manipulate others even after her remains were eventually discovered, making up further ridiculous stories that are an insult to Debbie’s memory and to everyone who continues to mourn her loss.
“The fact he asked a family member to dig up her remains shows what a callous and selfish person he is, sparing little to no thought as to the deeply devastating effect such an act would likely have on that person.
“Andrew Griggs is already serving a life sentence for Debbie’s murder but our investigation into these further offences was about more than achieving another positive court outcome.
“It was about securing justice for Debbie and her family and friends, and ensuring the general public know exactly the lengths Griggs was willing to go to in order to escape the consequences of his disgusting actions.”
Katie Samways from the Crown Prosecution Service said the case was “one of the worst examples imaginable” of perverting the course of justice.
“Andrew Griggs spent decades lying to everyone around him, claiming that Debbie’s disappearance was nothing to do with him,” she added.
“Once convicted of her murder, in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, he tried to manipulate his son into helping him in the most appalling way possible.
“Griggs deliberately failed to reveal the location of Debbie’s body, adding immeasurably to the distress of her family and friends.”
She added: “None of us can imagine the impact that Griggs’ actions have had on everyone around him.
“Now, more than 25 years after Debbie first disappeared, we hope that her family and friends can now finally put this chapter of their lives behind them, knowing Andrew Griggs has been fully held to account not just for Debbie’s murder, but also for the lies he continually told in the intervening period.”
Win a luxury ticket package for two to this year’s Wilderness Festival
Music fans can win a luxury package for two to this year’s Wilderness Festival, all courtesy of Audi.
Wilderness returns this year to the picturesque nature reserve at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, and will be headlined by rock band Supergrass, Nineties rave duo Orbital, and Brit Award-winning, Grammy-nominated indie-rock duo Wet Leg.
Completing the headliner lineup are Basement Jaxx, who are making their return to live shows for the first time in over a decade, as they celebrate the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking album, Remedy.
The winner will receive a pair of complimentary festival tickets and boutique accommodation in a luxury cabin for two. They will also be treated to an Audi Kitchen experience and, for the ultimate luxury, your own private chauffeur to take you and your guest to the festival and return journey.
Enter the prize draw here.
Wilderness Festival is known for its eclectic music lineup, which this year includes performances from pop singer Lapsley, singer-songwriter Bess Atwell, Scottish musician Jacob Alon and DJ Craig Charles.
At The Sanctuary and Spa, guests will discover an oasis of calm, whether that means taking part in disco yoga or a workshop to explore your sensuality. Highlights include boating, massage treatments, sauna rituals, hot tubs, a wild sauna, Wim Hof method ice baths and wild swimming.
Gourmet food offerings can be found at Ben Quinn’s long table banquet in the woods, a once-in-a-lifetime experience set in the woods and lit by chandeliers. There, Quinn and his team will serve up a feast of flavour cooked right in front of you five courses of carefully curated, responsibly sourced, local and seasonal ingredients.
Elsewhere, attendees can join a number of talks, comedy sets and conversations, from Food Stories with Jay Rayner to a live recording of Jamie Laing’s podcast, Great Company.
Comedian, writer and NHS doctor Matthew Hutchinson will share a sharp and moving look at life on the frontline of British healthcare, while cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith will uncover a bold and fascinating alternative history of female friendship.
The prize draw will open for entries at 3pm (BST) on 7 May 2025 and close at 3pm BST on 17 June 2025. Only one entry per person is permitted for the Prize Draw. Terms and conditions apply.