The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns had a dramatic effect on London's property market as many decided to move away from the city to be closer to friends and family.
And while the rest of the UK property market has boomed, it seems as though the capital is starting to play catch-up with some London boroughs already starting to see a return in homebuyer demand and transactions up by as much as 17% when compared to 2020.
London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, analysed residential transaction data from the Land Registry to highlight where across the London market had seen the largest uplift in property transactions in the last year, as well as which boroughs were seeing the largest level of activity as a percentage of total London property sales.
The data shows that just over 84,000 homes sold across London in 2021, with this total remaining largely flat when compared to 2020.
Busiest boroughs for London homebuyers
The London borough of Bromley enjoyed the largest level of market activity, accounting for 5.5% of all London transactions in 2021. Wandsworth also proved popular, with 5.1% of all London transactions taking place within the borough, followed by Croydon (5%).
Other boroughs to see the largest levels of buyer activity over the last year include Barnet (4.4%), Havering (4.4%), Lambeth (4%), Hillingdon, Bexley, Enfield, Ealing and Lewisham (3.5%).
Largest increase in transactions
While London transaction levels remained largely unchanged, a number of boroughs have seen a strong uplift in buyer activity when compared to the previous year. There were 17% more transactions across the London Borough of Redbridge in 2021 versus 2020.
Havering and Enfield enjoyed an increase of 13.9%, with Merton (13.7%) and Kingston (12.8%) also enjoying a double-digit increase.
Marc von Grundherr, Director of Benham and Reeves, commented: “The London market has been quietly ticking over while the rest of the UK has been booming, but it certainly looks as though 2022 is the year it regains its place at the forefront of the property market. The latest data from Halifax shows that the rate of London house price growth double between December and January and so there are clear signs the market is back on the up.
"A number of boroughs have already jumped the gun with this return to form, enjoying a considerable uplift in transactional volume in 2021 when compared to the previous year. What is interesting is that we usually see this stronger performance originate in the inner London market and move its way outward.
"However, the impact of the pandemic remains clear with the majority of market activity remaining largely focussed around the capital’s peripheral boroughs, with this activity starting to move slowly back towards the centre of the capital.”