Transactions in the prime London sales market increased by 55.8% in October compared to the same month last year, with the second highest number of transactions in the month over the past 20 years, LonRes reveals.

The latest data shows that transactions were also 62.8% higher than figures between 2017 and 2019.

Under offer numbers continued to rise, increasing 21.6% on an annual basis.

Elsewhere, there were 18.7% more new instructions across prime London in October than a year earlier and 12.1% more than the 2017 to 2019 October average.

So far this year there have been larger numbers of price reductions, but these fell in October by 3.6% compared to last year.

The stock of available homes for sale also grew in October and was 10.6% higher at the end of the month than the same period last year.

Average achieved values across prime London recorded a 0.9% annual fall in October, however, this is the best performance since August last year.

Combined with the stronger activity it LonRes suggests that this could return to price growth could be close.

Meanwhile, sales at the top end of the market had slowed this year but activity rose in October. £5m+ transactions were up 34.5% on last year and were 62.5% above the 2017 to 2019 October average.

New instructions in this market increased by 31.2% compared to last October, with available stock on the market rising by 21.7% over the past 12 months.

Annual rental growth across prime London fell slightly to 1.4% in October. Average rents were 35.4% above their 2017 to 2019 average.

LonRes data for October indicated an annual decrease of 10.9% in lets agreed and a 6.5% decrease in new instructions, with activity on both measures remaining well below pre-pandemic levels.

The stock of available rental properties increased slightly, with 0.8% more homes on the market across prime London at the end of October than a year earlier.

LonRes head of research Nick Gregori says: “October saw a significant increase in sales activity in prime London. Set against a backdrop of concern around the first Labour Budget and a subdued year so far for transactions, at first glance this may appear a surprise development. But there are a few factors that explain why the market has suddenly picked up.”

“We have consistently noted that underlying buyer demand has remained relatively robust this year even if not translating into agreed deals. It seems the catalyst for cautious buyers to move out of the ‘wait-and-see’ phase was the chance to get a deal done before the Budget potentially introduced increased or new taxes for property purchasers.”

“Volatility of borrowing costs may also have played a role – potentially a case of ‘use it or lose it’ for those with better mortgage offers from a few months back expiring. But it’s not just deals being brought forward, as under offer numbers also suggest a healthy pipeline of deals to come over the closing weeks of 2024.”

“The £5m+ market enjoyed some of this momentum too, with some substantial deals done in the past few weeks. Supply continues to grow but October saw large increases in both sales and under offers compared to last year.”

“Looking at activity over the past four months – the first following the change of government – suggests it has fallen back a little from the strong market of 2022 and 2023 but remains well ahead of pre-2020 trends.”