he London real estate market is "gridlocked," with many homeowners keeping their houses off the market due to fear they will be unable to buy a replacement.
Data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows there were only 108,000 homes on the market in London in February, down from 225,000 in February 2003, The Telegraph reports.
The shortage of properties for sale extends into areas around the British capital.
"There is a gridlock situation developing, where properties are jammed because people who want to move can't find what they want, so they don't put their own house on the market," said Mark Rimell, who heads the country house department for Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire for Strutt & Parker.
One consequence, Rimell and others said, is a growing gray market. People seeking to buy houses retain an agent to find a property that has not been advertised.
© 2007 UPI
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