According to property firm Crayson prices have risen 7.9% in the last 12 months with homes in Kensington, Westbourne Grove and Bayswater performing particularly well. Here prices per square foot are now over 30% higher than in 2010.
‘Across our market in the first half of 2013, there were 229 properties launched per month, a 127% rise on the 101 properties per month launched in the first half of 2012. The rise has been greater for more expensive properties, with a 290% rise in the number of properties reaching the market between £2 million and £5 million and a rise of over 300% for properties priced over £5 million,’ said Nick Crayson.
He pointed out that larger properties are also demanding higher prices per square foot. For example, properties under 2,000 square feet in W14 command an average of around £921 per square foot while properties over 2,000 square feet command an average of around £1,517 per square foot.
In W10 the differential is £789 per square foot for properties under 2,000 square feet and £1,075 for properties over 2,000 square feet.
In the second quarter of 2013, the average sold price per square foot for properties under £2 million was £1,076, for properties priced between £2 million and £5 million it was £1,510 and for those over £5 million it was £2,145.
‘The main driver of demand at these top levels of the market continues to be overseas buyers. The days of banker bonuses driving the central London market are gone. The global economy has a much greater influence on the prime London market than the UK economy, and London is home to more residents worth over $30 million than any other city in the world and has the third highest number of billionaires, behind New York and Moscow,’ explained Crayson.
‘Many of these overseas buyers are of course already living in the UK. Others travel to the UK to buy, or use a representative who is based in the UK. Over the past 12 months, over 70% of Crayson properties have sold to foreign buyers,’ he added.
He explained that means an estate agent needs to cater for an ever widening buyer demographic, understand the different ways overseas buyers operate, and ensure that their varying needs are met. ‘One size fits all is not an option in this market and we believe that the fact that, this year, every house we have sold has been at our original guide price or above, bears testament to this philosophy,’ he said.
Meanwhile, it is also reported that the so called second tier locations in London such as Wandsworth and Hackney, are powering ahead of the traditional prime borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
According to new analysis by property finders, Garrington, for the year to the end of June 2013 Land Registry data shows that double digit percentage growth in these boroughs has beaten the 9.5% growth of Kensington and Chelsea where growth declined substantially from the 18.3% recorded to August 2012.
Leading the pack is Wandsworth with growth exceeding 11.3% followed by Hackney at 11% and Camden is at 10.6% then Merton at 10 per cent. These are all ahead of prime Kensington and Chelsea and significantly higher than prime Westminster at 6.9%.
Garrington’s advice now to buyers looking for value, such as investors, is to consider the opportunities for capital growth that exist in a number of non-prime areas. In the London Borough of Camden for example, the highest average value achieved per square foot is £973 in Belsize Park, while in Knightsbridge and Belgravia it is more than double at £2,025.
‘The prime areas of London do, of course, continue to be hugely popular, but for some of our clients where capital growth is the key motivation, we like to give them the option of buying these high quality properties, often off market, in what some would describe as second tier locations,’ said Nicholas Finn, director of Garrington’s London office.
‘These areas often offer a more varied choice of property and the chance to buy into interesting areas with plenty of village feel to them. The quality of transport, even the expansion of cycle routes, often makes them a prime opportunity even if they are not yet prime areas,’ he added.