World News for Students of English

28-09-2026 15:00

London’s real estate market is facing a severe slump in flat sales, which is in sharp contrast with the high demand seen just a few years ago.

Property data reveals a growing mismatch in the housing crisis: 88 percent of flats listed for sale in London last year failed to find a buyer within six months.

High mortgage rates, rising service charges, and changing post-pandemic preferences for larger living spaces have combined to make flats far less attractive compared to houses. Complex leasehold structures, ongoing maintenance issues, and unresolved building defects further paralyze the market. Residents in Croydon are left without hot water or heating due to gas leaks, yet they cannot sell their properties because management companies clash over repair bills. Meanwhile, unresolved fire safety regulations following the Grenfell tragedy leave thousands of buildings with unsafe cladding, which prevents owners from selling.

The UK government is introducing measures to cap ground rents and speed up cladding removal to help restore stability.

Difficult words: slump (a sudden and severe drop or decline in price, value, sales, or economic activity), mismatch (a failure to correspond or fit together well), paralyze (to cause something to stop functioning, moving, or operating normally), cladding (a covering or outer layer of material added to the outside walls of a building).

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