Countrywide urges Mayor of London to focus on housing

Just 53% of Londoners said they were happy with where they lived against the national average of 62%.

Over a quarter of Londoners said they were unable to afford a deposit to live in the capital compared to the national average of just over a fifth unable to afford a deposit.

Worryingly one in five London residents could not afford their monthly repayments compared to the national average of 16%. Concerns about job security were also higher in the capital with 15% of Londoners worried about job insecurity against the UK average of 12%.

Grenville Turner, chief executive at Countrywide, said that it was clear to him that London was the property capital of the world after travelling across three continents in the past fortnight.

He said: “We have seen an increasingly high demand from foreign investors for mid to high-end London properties and we hope that the new mayor will continue to attract inward investment to the capital.

“However considering the wider London market, we found that only half of London residents are currently happy where they live, with 27% of London respondents citing deposit affordability as their main reason for not purchasing a property.

“We urge the new mayor to recognise the importance of each sector in the London market and place the issue of the shortage of affordable housing in the city high on their agenda.”

The new Mayor of London is due to be announced today after yesterday’s local elections.