Wondering what’s going on in the London property market right now? Whether you’re looking at SE17 properties for sale, houses for sale in SW1W or new homes in Kennington, it pays to know what shape the capital’s property market is in.
Here, we take a look at the latest trends and the best performing areas in the prime central London property market, using information from high end estate agent Savills. In addition to SE17 properties for sale, houses for sale in SW1W and new homes in Kennington, their latest index (published Monday 24th September) looks at the state of the market in Chelsea, South Kensington, Knightsbridge and other desirable areas of the capital.
Lucian Cook, director of Savills research, said: “Despite some high profile sales, heightened uncertainty in the tax regime for high value property has caused the heat to come out of the market albeit without leading to price falls. Detailed analysis of the index suggests that it is increasingly the best in class of prime London homes that are underpinning average price growth. In prime central London, only a third of properties showed any price growth in the past three months. Just over half remained flat and around a tenth showed marginal price falls.
By contrast, the best performing 10% of properties saw prices rise by 3% or more.”
Savills research revealed that prices for Chelsea properties for sale increased by 10.5% over the past 12 months, making the area the best performing place in the capital. Knightsbridge property for sale came a close second, at 9.6%. Meanwhile prices for Belgravia homes for sale were up by 8.3%. This is apparently largely due to these areas being traditionally desirable for wealthy overseas investors.
Chelsea also had the best quarter, with house prices up 2.2% over the past three months. Along with South Kensington, the area experienced high levels of interest from French buyers looking for safe investment options during a time of Eurozone difficulties and the threat of higher taxes at home.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, areas popular with domestic buyers didn’t see much in the way of quarterly growth.
Cook also highlighted the effects the Olympics had on the prime central London property market: “The Olympics undoubtedly contributed to slower market activity in the last quarter, and as a result, across the prime London markets we have seen a rise in stock over the summer months. Looking forward, the outcome of consultations on the taxation of high value property will be important to international demand, while the pace of London economic recovery will dictate sentiment amongst domestic buyers.”
Although the London property market dances to the beat of its own tune, Cook’s comments below show that the sentiments surrounding the UK housing market as a whole have filtered through to the capital. It seems that even high end homes must now be priced conservatively and that buyers are showing reluctance. Even in London, it’s all about value for money.
Buyers are now slower to commit and want to be sure of value. We expect properties that are priced according to current market conditions will continue to sell.”
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Sources: Property Wire, Savills.