The volume of sales in London’s highest value boroughs is rising as asking prices adjust to tax changes, new research has found.
Values are also improving with the decline in prices slowing in the prime property markets in both central and outer London, according to the latest analysis from real estate firm Knight Frank.
Average prices between £4 million and £5 million in prime outer London declined 2.6% in August. Nevertheless, this has been the best performing price bracket since October 2017, underlining how higher value markets have more quickly adjusted to higher rates of stamp duty.
Elsewhere in the market in outer London in the price bracket up to £1 million prices are down by 0.2% month on month, by 1% quarter on quarter and by 2.4% in the year to date while in the £1 million to £2 million market they are down by 0.4%, 1.2% and 2.9% respectively.
In the £2 million to £3 million market prices are down by 0.1% on a monthly basis, by 1.6% on a quarterly basis and by 2.7% in the year to date while the £3 million to £4 million sector has seen prices fall by 0.1%, 1.3% and 3.7% respectively.
In central London prices in the market up to £1 million are down by 1.1% month on month, by 1% quarter on quarter and by 2.8% year to date while in the £1 million to £2 million bracket they are down by 0.5%, 1.3% and 2.3% respectively.
In this part of London in the £2 million to £5 million market prices have fallen by 0.6% on a monthly basis, by 1% on a quarterly basis and by 2.2% year to date while in the market from £5 million to £10 million they are down by 0.3%, 0.9% and 1.5% respectively.
The research report also shows that the combined number of sales in Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster above £2 million rose 9% in the year to April 2018 compared to the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, the equivalent rise above £1 million was 4%.
And it points out that the ratio of new prospective buyers to new listings rose to 9.2 in July, the highest figure in more than two and a half years. A higher ratio can signify future upwards pressure on pricing as demand rises in relation to supply.
