Affluent and high net worth individuals are increasingly alarmed at the red-hot London prime property market, while appetite to make investments in general waned in October, according to a survey conducted by Findawealthmanager.com, a match-making service.

Affluent and high net worth individuals are increasingly alarmed at the red-hot London prime property market, while appetite to make investments in general waned in October, according to a survey conducted by Findawealthmanager.com, a match-making service.

“October shows a large spike in the number of private clients who fear current property price levels. With a back drop of reporting on ‘help to buy schemes’ and strong London prime property prices, in addition to the US debt ceiling crisis, our graph shows increasing concern about investing in both stock markets and property,” the report said.

Almost 50 per cent of clients are concerned about property prices, compared with only 5 per cent expressing such a worry in June. The poll is conducted among clients with at least £100,000 ($163,000) of investable assets.

According to recent data from Knight Frank, the property firm, prime residential prices in the UK capital increased by 0.6 per cent in October and have increased by 6.2 per cent over the first ten months of 2013. The sheer strength of the London property market has prompted some policymakers to call for taxes to deter speculative purchases.

The Findawealthmanager.com organisation exists to put potential clients in touch with wealth managers who will hopefully suit their needs and vice versa. The business of finding a suitable firm is not as straightforward as it might at first appear and this publication interviewed Findawealthmanager.com about its business model in December last year.

As far as investment appetite is concerned, survey respondents indicated a level of 115 in October, down from just above 120 in September. (People are surveyed on their investment appetite with capital preservation at one end of the spectrum and capital growth at the other. The index was set at 100 in January 2013 which represented the average investment appetite for 2012. All future values are relative to that start point.)

“The trend remains positive since the outset of 2013 with an overall increase of 15 points. Factors around the uncertain US debt ceiling talks contributed to the downturn, although the impact was less significant than some would have predicted,” the report said.