PROPERTY UPDATE
An exciting time for buying property! Many people are enjoying the Stamp Duty break and some are returning to London Since the turn of the year, we Sales in Prime Central London 1st January – 1st May ** have seen an incredibly buoyant Up to £1m £1m - £2m £2m - £5m Above £5m property market in England with 2019 219 195 144 62 current prices at an all-time high*. This is in part due to the Stamp 2020 221 167 147 59 Duty Land Tax holiday that the 2021 349 245 203 93 government implemented in 2020 as part of the Covid measures to keep the UK economy moving, but busy prime central London has been in the first also people’s buying habits having changed four months of 2021. What makes this even since Covid. A greater number of people have more remarkable is that all these transactions recently been prioritising larger gardens have taken place without the usual influx of or terraces and a dedicated study or home foreign buyers flying in to buy their bit of office. After the first lockdown, the rush was London real estate. I am not suggesting for to escape the cities with a lot of people wanting one second that none of these properties were to buy their own bit of countryside; but almost snapped up by foreign buyers, as I personally a year on, we are now seeing a number of those have acquired three for foreign clients. They people looking to either make the move back wanted to use a buyer’s agent as their eyes into the cities or at least have a pied-à-terre. and ears on the ground and employed my local This has meant that the smaller apartments expertise to identify a handful of properties without outside space in the likes of prime before doing a video call to make the final central London - that were almost impossible choice. That aside, it seems there hasn’t been to sell after the first lockdown - have now the usual number of international buyers we become very desirable, leading to a shortage of would normally see in a traditional central stock across the board. London market. The graph below demonstrates just how Likewise, houses in suburbs - which offer that blend of greater living space and freedom, whilst still easily connected to the city centres for business - are still seeing substantial demand with many properties going to “best and final” sealed bids. Just last week, my clients were involved in a sealed bid on a house in Chiswick that they were especially keen on and didn’t want to lose. We were first through the door, but it became very apparent that this house was so popular that it would go to sealed bids. Within two days there had been eighteen viewings and numerous offers. My clients and I ended up being one of seven formal offers that were submitted as part of the sealed bids process and while my clients were successful, the top three offers were all within
