A pullback in the buy to let market is threatening to reduce sale prices further in London and parts of the south east during 2018, according to analysts at the website Home.

It forecasts that prices in London and the south east will be among the hardest hit because high capital values mean rental yields are less of a hook to keep landlords in the market.

Home says prices in Greater London slid for a fifth consecutive month in December, by 0.3 per cent compared to November, pushing the year-on-year change down by 1.0 per cent. 

In the south east prices fell by 1.4 per cent between November and December and the annual change is now 2.3 per cent, less than the England and Wales average of 2.6 per cent.

In contrast, Home says 2018 looks far brighter for sellers in Yorkshire and the north west in particular.
 
Annual price hikes of 4.7 per cent for the north west and 4.4% for Yorkshire during 2017 are the biggest in these regions for many years and further rises are expected next year.
 
A key reason, Home insists, is that private rental landlords in these areas enjoy some of the highest yields in the country, which means property is in demand from both buy to let landlords coming into the market and existing landlords keen to hang onto their investments.