Wealthy prime London buyers choose larger homes

More buyers in prime central London are choosing larger properties - a function of the pandemic and the race for space.

That’s the view of London property data consultancy LonRes which says more than half of properties sold in July and August had three or more bedrooms.  

The average home sold over those two months was 20 per cent larger than the average home sold in the same period between 2016 and 2019.

The shift to larger homes with more bedrooms has also impacted on the average size of properties sold. Between 2016 and 2019 the average size (1,254 square foot) of a property sold in July and August changed little. 

Yet between July and August 2020 the average size of property sold had risen by 14 per cent (up 176 square foot).  By 2021 purchased prime London properties were 20 per cent larger than the 2016-2019 average at 1,507 square foot (equating to an extra 253 square foot).

LonRes says domestic buyers have driven the prime London property market over the course of the pandemic and long-term homes with space, have been bought at a premium.  

Over July and August buyers spent an average of £2.43m on their prime London home - this is 23 per cent or £440,000 more than during the same two months last year.

Transaction volumes - exchanges - over the last three months far exceed 2020 levels.  

Between June and August sales were 76.2 per cent higher than during the same three months a year ago.  

But the rush to meet the June stamp duty holiday deadline meant July and August were quieter, with the number of sales recorded in August down 15 per cent on the same month in 2020. 

Achieved prices rose 3.2 per cent in August 2021 compared with August 2020; new sales instructions fell 38 per cent in August compared with 2020, but remained 10.9 per cent higher than the 2015 to 2019 average for August.