Mortgage hunters, including
first-time buyers, in the capital can expect to face average asking prices of £300,000, according to the
property website Rightmove.
Average
house prices across
England and
Wales have been steadily increasing, with a 0.9 per cent increase over the last four weeks taking the average price tag to £203,399.
But
London is steaming ahead of the rest of the country, with average
properties costing £300,719, almost £100,000 more expensive than homes in the rest of the country.
This means that almost all London
buyers, including first-time buyers, looking to
invest in
mortgages are having to pay
stamp duty land tax.
"You'd have thought record prices and most buyers being caught by the stamp duty trap would have slowed the market," suggested Rightmove's commercial director Miles Shipside.
"However, the need to put a roof over your head and the lack of other options mean buyers are faced with no other realistic choice than to stretch themselves further if they can," he added.
Across the country 84 per cent of properties are priced below the stamp duty threshold of £120,000, yet only two per cent of homes in greater London come with this mimimum price tag.
