London high-end homes rise in demand

In a recent property market analysis, put forward by London-based lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves, market growth during the final quarter of 2021 was revealed. 

The research was conducted by using the Benham and Reeves PCL Homebuyer Demand Index. This index keeps track of properties valued between £2 million to £10million and £10 million and above. 

The value of these properties is determined by the ratio of properties listed online that have sold or are under offer. This is then listed as a percentage of the total properties listed. 

The prime market continues to climb

Properties valued between £2 million to £10 million were categorised as the prime market. Homebuyer demand increased by 4% quarterly, making it 7.8% higher annually. 

The increase in demand during the final quarter of last year could be the result of travel restrictions easing during this time. As a result, buyers from across the country were able to travel and make property purchases overseas.

Benham and Reeves’ market analysis reveals that London’s South West prime market had the biggest quarterly growth. Between the third and fourth quarter of 2021 Clapham had a 23.7% increase. 

Putney not only had a quarterly increase of a noteworthy 18.3% but the affluent area also saw the largest annual increase of 25.9%. 

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, explains the reason for the increase in demand: “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.” 

The super-prime market analysis

In the market analysis, properties valued at a staggering £10 million and above were categorised as the super-prime market.

Since the third quarter of 2021, the super-prime market had an increase of 0.2% and a 2.3% annual increase. 

Overall Highgate had the highest increase in demand during the final quarter of 2021, as this was around 22.2%. While Knightsbridge had a quarterly increase of 6.1% and Victoria increased by 2.6%.