Prime central London market to stagnate next year, warns Savills

Prime Central London’s housing market will stagnate with no price growth at all next year, warns Savills.

Even in 2017 price growth will be only 2.0 per cent says the high-end agency.

Savills’ forecast from the capital, just released and running up to 2020, includes a list of what it now regards as London’s five prime regions - taking the definition much wider than the ‘Prime Central London’ coined by most other high end agents in the capital.

The five are the central ‘PCL’ area including the usual locations plus Marylebone and Notting Hill; the west, running from Hammersmith to Ealing; the south west, from Fulham and Battersea down to Richmond and Wimbledon; the north east from Islington down to Canary Wharf; and the north west, from St John’s Wood up to Highgate.

Savills says prime central London values are currently showing annual price falls of 4.6 per cent but are expected to have largely absorbed the impact of higher stamp duty charges by the end of 2015, to close this year 2.0 per cent down before next year’s zero-growth.

The other prime London markets away from the centre are less impacted by higher stamp duty charges and are expected to see moderate price growth through next year, rising 2.0 per cent. However, tighter lending criteria will continue to be a constraining factor for these more domestic markets, says the agency.