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Financial Times prime London focus

ended 21. March 2023

A journalist at the Financial Times is writing a focus piece on the prime London property market. It will cover both sales and rentals, central and outer prime areas. She's after stats on prices, discounts, time to sell, tenant competition and any other insights into what's happening in the market, e.g. how have higher mortgage rates affected it, are Credit Suisse banking issues, etc, starting to make people jittery? Anecdotes would be particularly helpful. If possible, she's also looking for case studies of buyers, sellers and tenants in the prime London market to quote about their experiences. They don't need to be photographed.

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Alex Mosley0
Director - Perrygate at Perrygate - London Buying Agent
Prime Central London is better insulated against rates rises than the rest of the capital. According to research by BuiltPlace, 27.6% of homes in Kensington and Chelsea are owned outright compared to 11.9% in Hackney. However, a significant stockmarket downturn would reduce budgets and weaken sentiment. Prime London is increasingly becoming a two-speed market. Poorer stock is languishing on the market for more than a year while best-in-class family homes are still attracting multiple bids, albeit fewer than a year ago. It's too early to say if Prime London will experience a significant downturn but so far it is proving more resilient than the wider UK market.
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Samuel Mather-HolgateVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
The London market has two conflicting elements affecting it; a weak pound and confidence in the UK economy. A weak pound should benefit foreign ownership and attract those from abroad who will be able to snap up prime real estate cheaply. However, overall confidence in UK plc is at a record low following Brexit and the pandemic. Our growth forecasts are dismal and we have a government who are out of ideas. The weak pound may well be why Savills say property sales for those worth over £5 million are at their highest level since 2006. Of course, it is too early to see any trends on 2023, but the end of last year saw Prime London properties increase in value and the number of transactions. General prices in the capital might remain stagnant in 2023, with many still aiming to move out of the city, following Covid and more flexible working conditions. With an average yield for landlords of 4.1%, property investment still stacks up but won't blow your socks off.
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Kundan BhaduriVerified
Property Developer and Portfolio Landlord at The Kushman Group
Demand for rental properties in London has increased significantly over the past several months. We prefer applicants that can offer speed over trying to get the top dollar for the property. In my experience, this is what most professional landlords are currently vying for in London. It is easier to control voids by letting a property quickly. Tenants who have their finances in order always get the first dip. On an aside, we have also seen properties being much more keenly priced on the sales market where they definitely need to be sold, for example, cases involving death, divorce and debt. These sorts of properties are coming to the market at a significant discount to what they were trading at, this time last summer. For a well-financed professional landlord, it can be a good time to buy and add to, not reduce, their portolio.
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Dean EsnardVerified
Director at Magni Finance
As HNW mortgage brokers, we regularly assist wealthy clients buying in prime London. Higher interest rates have not deterred higher earners from borrowing as most see the current market as a short-term problem. Despite rising in February, inflation is expected to come down by the end of the year so there is a window of opportunity to capitalise on discounted properties. We have also seen an increase in high net worth borrowers seeking more sophisticated funding solutions such as loans secured against stock portfolios, business assets or even cash where interest rates are as low 0.5%.
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Rob Gill0
Managing Director at Altura Mortgage Finance
The property market for good-quality homes remains reasonably buoyant. There was plenty of pent of demand going in 2023 , stoked by the stamp duty holidays and the changing priorities of many homeowners during the pandemic. Buyers who previously missed out are taking advantage of a less competitive market to secure homes they may have spent months or even years trying to find.