Demand for London’s high end homes continues to climb

The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, reveals which Prime London markets have experienced the strongest growth in demand during Q4 2021.

The PCL Homebuyer Demand Index by Benham and Reeves monitors demand for homes valued between £2-£10 million and £10 million and above based on the ratio of properties listed online that have already sold subject to contract or gone under offer. E.g, if 100 homes are listed and 50 are already sold, the demand score would be 50%.

Prime Market – £2m-£10m 

London’s Prime market has continued to go from strength to strength during the final stages of 2021. Not only did homebuyer demand climb 4% on a quarterly basis, but it was also 7.8% higher annually, as foreign buyers took advantage of easing travel restrictions to reinvigorate their portfolios. 

The strongest quarterly growth has been seen in London’s South West Prime market, with demand climbing 23.7% in Clapham between the third and final quarters of 2021, while Putney (18.3%) and Barnes (11.7%) also saw some of the largest quarterly increases.

Putney has also seen the largest annual increase at 25.9%, with Wandsworth (21.2%) and Wimbledon (20.7%) also seeing some of the largest annual uplifts. 

Super Prime Market – £10m+

Meanwhile, the Super Prime market has seen a more modest 0.2% increase since Q3 although demand at the very top tier of the London market is up 2.3% annually. 

The best Super Prime performance both quarterly and annually has been recorded in Highgate where demand was non-existent in both the third quarter of 2021 and the final quarter of 2020. However, the final quarter of 2021 saw demand sit at 22.2%. 

Knightsbridge (6.1%), and Victoria (2.6%) also enjoyed some of the largest quarterly increases, with Hampstead Garden Suburb (6.3%) and Mayfair (5%) seeing the largest annual increases behind Highgate. 

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“Despite ongoing complications as a result of the Omicron variant, demand for London’s high end homes remained robust and demand has continued to climb both on a quarterly and annual basis. 

However, the pandemic’s influence remains clear with demand at its highest across areas of the South West where there is greater availability of larger homes and green space. However, even in the more central prime market we’re now seeing demand where there simply wasn’t any during the initial Covid-19 outbreak and this bodes very well for the year ahead.” 

Data sourced from the major property portals during Q4, 2021, with demand based on the number of prime properties already sold subject to contract or under offer as a percentage of total properties listed.