The increase in demand reverses the downward trend seen so far this year
The latest Prime London Demand Index by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that prime buyer demand crept up during the first quarter of this year - although demand remains down on an annual basis.
The Prime London Demand Index by Benham and Reeves monitors demand for London’s most expensive properties based on the level of market activity seen between the £2m to £10m threshold and the super prime market of £10m+. Demand is based on the proportion of all homes listed for sale across the prime market that have already been sold subject to contract.
Prime market (£2m to £10m)
The latest index shows that across the prime market (£2m to £10m), almost one in five prime London properties had found a buyer in Q2 (19.4%), with demand climbing by 0.4% versus the first quarter, although it remained -3.8% off the same pace seen this time last year.
Hampstead topped the table in Q2 with the largest quarterly increase at 10%, with Regents Park (+7.5%), Highgate (+7.1%), Barnes (+4.8%) and Wandsworth (+4.8%) also seeing notable uplifts, whilst Chiswick (-14.8%), Putney (-11.4%) and Wapping (-5.9%) saw the largest quarter to quarter reductions in buyer appetites.
Super prime market (£10m+)
At the very top of London’s property ladder, just 2.2% of all homes listed had secured a buyer in Q2, with super prime demand also creeping up versus Q1 at 0.6%, but again remaining -6.7% down annually.
Hampstead also saw the largest quarterly demand increase across the super prime market, up +9.5%, with Chelsea (+5.4%), Holland Park (+3.6%), St John’s Wood (+3.2%) and Mayfair (+3.2%) amongst the other largest quarterly increases.
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “The prime London market is one that tends to move slow and steady when compared to the wider UK, but it’s fair to say that it’s been a tentative first six months and the uncertainty of the wider economic landscape has led to a heightened degree of hesitation amongst buyers.
"However, as inflation has eased and the economy has stabilised we’ve seen green shoots of buyer activity emerging and we expect the second half of the year to be more fruitful.”