‘Subdued’ prime London market picks up
Knight Frank's Tom Bill says the capital's high end market is better than 12 months ago, but the bar wasn't "particularly high".
The prime London market has picked up this year compared to the subdued condition 12 months ago, Knight Frank reports.
The agency warns, however, that last year did not set a “a particularly high bar” for sales in high end areas.
The numbers of transactions was 14% higher across the capital in the three months to July, while the rise was 3% in prime central London, the data shows.
This year the backdrop has been quieter.”
“This year the backdrop has been quieter,” Tom Bill, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank (pictured), says.
“New rates of high-value council tax announced in November look like the thin end of the wedge for a government with limited capacity to fund its spending plans, but they weren’t as bad as feared.
“It enabled buyers to make plans after the Christmas break and by March the number of offers made in prime central and prime outer London was 8% higher than last year, which has translated into more activity this summer.”
He adds: “There is still speculation ahead of October’s Budget, but it has been more muted this year, particularly after new Prime Minister Andy Burnham ruled out a land value tax.”
Short supply
Stuart Bailey, Head of Prime Central London Sales at Knight Frank, says: “Exceptional properties are in short supply which means buyers who were previously unwilling to consider refurbishment projects are doing so to ensure they get what they want.
“Many buyers at the top end of the market can spend one or two years looking for their ideal home, so even if doesn’t exist right now, the opportunity to create it does.”
