Prime London prices drop at fastest level for five years - LonRes

The number of properties going under offer and new instructions are on the rise but this has yet to translate into sales and hasn’t stopped prices falling, research suggests.

January market data from LonRes shows a 5.4% annual rise in homes going under offer in prime London, while instructions rose 4.2%.

The volume of stock available for sale at the end of January is 5.4% higher than at the same point a year earlier.

However, average achieved sold prices fell by 7.1% in January on an annual basis, the largest fall in almost five years.  

There were 15.5% fewer transactions in January compared to the same month a year earlier, and 6.9% fewer than the 2017-2019, LonRes said.

Sales in the £5m-plus market were 17.2% down on a year earlier but ahead of the pre-pandemic average by 63.6%.  New instructions in this market also rose in January by 41.2% compared with a year ago, while the number of properties going under offer was unchanged over the same period.

Fall throughs and withdrawals in January were also lower than a year ago and price reductions are only 6% higher, LonRes added.

Nick Gregori, head of research at LonRes, said: “Sentiment appears to be gradually improving for the prime London sales market.  

“However, average achieved prices continued to slide, with the largest annual fall in almost five years.  And transactions remain relatively subdued, slightly below pre-pandemic levels.”