Savills: £5m-plus market slowed in 2023

Momentum within London’s £5m-plus residential market slowed in 2023, according to Savills, but sales remain well above the pre-pandemic average.

Research across the whole property market by Savills revealed a total of 526 sales worth in excess of £5m changed hands in 2023. 

While this is 13% lower than the record high in 2022, it is just 2.3% less than 2021, and higher than any other year since 2013, according to the research.

In value terms, £5.7bn worth of £5m-plus properties transacted in 2023, with sales in excess of £10m making up £3.2bn of the total amount. This is higher than any total value achieved between 2012-2019.

Half of all sales in excess of £5m in 2023 took place in traditional prime postcodes Chelsea (12%), Kensington (11%) and Belgravia (10%), Mayfair (8%) and Knightsbridge (7%), Savills said.

Frances McDonald, research analyst at Savills, said: “The rarefied top end of the London market outperformed the wider UK market in 2023 with transactions holding relatively steady.

“Cash and international buyer interest continue to play a pivotal role across prime London, which has resulted in prices for higher value properties – synonymous with cash and equity rich buyers – remaining steady over the course of the year.”

McDonald said Savills expects values to remain flat this year in light of the looming general election, but forecast price growth of 3.5% in 2025 and 6% in 2026 once the global economy picks up more significantly and domestic political instability subsides.”