Dramatic jump in sales activity across central London

Sales figures – both prices and sales volumes – across prime central London have jumped dramatically.

The biggest rises in both prices and transactions were in the £2m-plus price bracket where, since last year, Stamp Duty is now payable at 7%, or 15% if the property is bought by a corporate vehicle.

Figures from Lonres and analysed by Strutt & Parker’s research team, show transaction levels at their highest since 2006, with an increase of 21.5% since last year.

The biggest annual percentage rise has been in the £2m-£5m price bracket where there has been a 65.8% increase. Below £2m, there has been a 12.6% increase, and above £5m a 39.6% rise.

The figures also show that prices rose by 13.8% over the same period – between the end of the third quarter of last year and the third quarter of this. Almost all the increase has been this year, with a 4.3% rise in the first quarter and a 7.5% rise in the second.

Prices rose in all brackets, but the highest was in the £2m-£5m bracket where they went up 68.9%. In the sub-£2m price bracket, prices rose 22.6%, and in the £5m-plus bracket by 40.8%.    

Andrew Scott, head of Strutt & Parker London, said: “These numbers are no great surprise as last year was one of the worst I can remember.

“The ‘Jubilee Olympic’ summer completely ruined the whole of the spring and summer market, and then we had the uncertainty over the ‘non-dom tax’ which did nothing for the market confidence at the top end and caused almost a 40% drop in transactions.

“To add insult to injury, then followed the longest winter we can remember, when it snowed in March and the spring market didn’t start again until April.

“However, what is most interesting is that we have seen London continuing to behave really differently from the rest of the UK and Europe.

“So when other markets fail, London just marches on, and amid gloom and doom across the Channel we see the weekly return of sealed bids, gazumping and new records. That’s London!”
 
Stephanie McMahon, head of research for Strutt & Parker, said: “Such levels of increase are indicative of the market heating considerably.”