Demand is up across the prime London market on a quarterly and annual basis, but the super prime threshold of £10m+ has seen a drop in buyer demand in Q3, the latest prime central London buyer demand index by Benham and Reeves shows.
Across the core prime market, which ranges between £2m and £10m, buyer demand has edged up marginally in the third quarter, increasing by 0.2% to 25%.
This increase further builds on the positive growth seen in Q1, but more notable, increasing by 2.4% on an annual basis.
The highest demand for prime properties is in Barnes at 67.5%, Chiswick at 57.1% and Wandsworth at 53.1%.
Barnes has also seen the largest spike in demand compared to Q2, with a 16.7% increase.
Hampstead has seen the second largest increase at 7.9%, followed by Chiswick at 6%.
Islington has seen the largest quarterly decline with demand down 8.1% compared to the previous quarter, along with Holland Park down 5.4% and Maida Vale down 4.3%.
On an annual basis, Barnes again proves the most popular spot for prime property buyers, with demand up 23.2% compared to last year. Canary Wharf has also seen one of the largest annual upticks with an increase of 17.2%, followed by Battersea with a rise of 14.9%.
Meanwhile, demand in the super prime market has fallen for the second quarter in a row. In Q3, demand in the super prime market decreased by 1.9% compared to the same time last year.
Wimbledon is the hottest spot in London’s super prime market with current demand at 25%, followed by Highgate at 16.7% and Belgravia at 13.8%.
Holland Park has seen the largest quarterly increase in demand at 4.8%. Regents Park followed with a rise in demand of 4.3% and St John’s Wood with a rise of 3.6% also making the top three largest increases in quarterly buyer demand levels.
In terms of the largest annual boost to market activity, Highgate again tops the table with a 16.7% increase, followed by Belgravia at 10.5% and Victoria at 8.6%.
Benham and Reeves director Marc von Grundherr says: “The London market may have failed to benefit from the same stamp duty spark that set the wider UK property market ablaze, but we have seen a consistent performance of late and signs of a slow but steady return to health.”
“This has been no different across the prime London market and a rejuvenated level of foreign interest has certainly helped to spearhead this increase in market activity.”
“However, the super prime market has yet to enjoy the same uplift and buyer demand remains down on both last quarter and this time last year. However, a weak pound now means that many foreign buyers are benefitting from a dramatic boost in purchasing power and while this is bad news for the wider economy, it could see prime London sales start to climb over the coming months.”
