Prime London Sales and Prime London Lettings Indices – Area Summaries
| Region | Postcode Area | Postcodes |
|---|---|---|
| Central London | Belgravia, Westminster, Pimlico, Mayfair, Marylebone, Fitzrovia, Soho, Covent Garden, Chelsea, Kensington, West Kensington, South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Earls Court, Holland Park, Notting Hill, Bayswater | SW1, SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10, W1, W2, W8, W10, W11, W14, WC2 |
| Central/South West | Fulham, Parsons Green, Battersea, Clapham , Wandsworth, Balham, Tooting | SW4, SW6, SW11, SW12, SW17, SW18 |
| North West London | Hampstead, Belsize Park, St John's Wood, Regent's Park, Highgate, Maida Vale, Little Venice, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Golders Green, West Hampstead, Kentish Town, Camden | NW1, NW3, NW5, NW6, NW8, NW11, N6, W9 |
| Islington, City & Docklands | Islington, Highbury, Bloomsbury, Finsbury, Clerkenwell, Wapping, Isle of Dogs, Borough, Shad Thames, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe | N1, N5, WC1, EC1, EC2, E1, E14, SE1, SE16 |
| West/Sout h West | Barnes, East Sheen, Putney, Wimbledon, Hammersmith, Chiswick, Richmond | SW13, SW14, SW15, SW19, SW20, W4, W6, W12, TW9, TW10 |
i. Background:
• Primelocation.com is the property portal of choice of the leading estate agency firms across the UK, including the major national agencies
Savills, Knight Frank, Hamptons International, Chesterton, Strutt & Parker Lane Fox, Cluttons, Carter Jonas, Humberts, Jackson-Stops & Staff as well as
many other leading London and regional firms. All of these firms list all of their properties on Primelocation.com.
• There are currently over 7,000 agent firms listing their properties on Primelocation.com, representing some 11,000 offices both in the UK and
abroad and advertising over 650,000 properties in one online location.
ii. Prime London Indices:
• Primelocation's Prime London Price Index is a unique housing market indicator, based on the properties listed on the www.primelocation.com
website.
• The Index monitors the stock levels and asking prices of properties in different regions over a minimum of a twelve month period.
• Using a core base of over 2,000 agent firms which have appeared on the site over that time, fluctuations in property types, including the ratio
of houses to flats and the size of the properties, are taken into account to ensure that the Indices are a true representation of what is happening in
the prime property sector.
• A robust filtering process is also employed to ensure that any property which is listed on www.primelocation.com by more than one agent is only
counted once. An average over three months ensures that the length of the sales process is also factored in.
iii. International Positioning:
• Primelocation.com has the largest collection of international property of any UKbased property portal with over 100,000 homes in France, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, South Africa and over 60 other countries. A search index is also available for International Property
(see http://www.primelocation.com/international-property/search-index).
Email: andrew.smith@tdpg.com
Tel: 020 7427 1422, Email: l.marshall@wriglesworth.com
The Primelocation.com House Price Index is a unique housing market indicator, based on the properties listed on Primelocation.com. The Index monitors stock levels and asking prices of properties in different regions.
Using a core base of over 2,000 agent firms which have appeared on the site over that time, fluctuations in property types (including the ratio of houses to flats and the size of the properties) are taken into account to ensure that the Indices are a true representation of what is happening in the prime property sector.
The Primelocation.com House Price Index is the only market index to represent the prime property market and covers the London sales markets, as well as the prime London rental market.
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Central London property back in vogue as confidence picks up
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: "September has been a positive month for London's Prime property market, with Central London price growth indicative of a more general, if cautious, upswing in consumer sentiment.
While we have a way to go before stability is restored, certain economic factors are beginning to improve and buyers are prepared to take the long term view.
The readjustment in prices has brought Zone One property back into favour with top-tier businessmen, who prefer to minimise their commute, sending demand shooting up as supply continues to fall."
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South West London to spearhead recovery in the capital's Prime property market
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: "Traditionally popular with families, the West and South West suburbs of London have weathered the downturn well.
Sustained demand for prime property in areas such as Chiswick and Wimbledon, which offer attractive and secure living environments in leafy 'village' locations, as well as excellent schools and amenities, has prevented prices from falling as far as in other regions.
"Buyers moving into the area are typically planning to settle there and make it their home for the longer term and, as such, the cycle of properties coming back onto the market is slower, maintaining supply at a lower level than demand.
"The heightened activity levels in South West and West London are set to spearhead a recovery in the Prime London property market, as the increasing prices encourage more vendors who may have been delaying a sale to put their properties onto the market and the outward ripple effect begins to take hold. Consumer confidence is gradually returning and we expect activity to continue to grow, underpinning stability throughout the Prime London market."
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The leading authority on the UK prime residential market
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: "Prime property landlords have been faced with ever decreasing rental values over the last year.
"As a result, more are expected to re-consider a return to the sales market this autumn, encouraged by reports that Prime London property prices have begun a tentative recovery.
"While recent reports have suggested that the current lack of supply may be artificially bolstering sale prices in some areas, I am confident that the Prime sales market will hold its own.
"The current demand being reported by agents in Prime London looks to be sufficient to sustain the current prices being achieved, with the Prime London market set to remain stable for the remainder of 2009."
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Prices stabilise in prime market
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: "Asking prices in London rose by 0.33% in June, making this the sixth price rise recorded in the past seven months.
"Prices rose most strongly in North West London (2.12%) and West/South West London (1.70%), two areas which also registered significant monthly declines in the amount of property on the market (-1.19% and -1.54% respectively).
"Interest from overseas buyers has played an important role in this surge in activity in Prime London. These buyers do not traditionally look far beyond London but their presence in the market has allowed London sellers to turn their attention to regional markets.
"Some evidence of a ripple effect from London can be discerned in the modest month-on-month rise in values in the South East (0.10%) and the South West (0.96%), but other regional markets remained subdued and prices in the Prime Country market fell by 0.07% over the month."
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Prime Sales Begin to Stabilise
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: "Asking prices in London registered a modest increase (0.27%) in May. This is the fifth such rise in the past six months and provides further evidence that the year-long trend of rapidly falling prices has stabilized.
"Prices over the month rose in three of London's five sub-regions. North West London (1.48%) and South West London (0.99%) recorded the largest price rises, while Islington, City & Docklands (-1.27%), the heart of the financial sector in the Capital, continues to be the weakest sub-region in London.
"Prices in the country market have not been quite as resilient as in London. This month they recorded a slight fall of -0.13% after two successive months of rising prices. Five of the six regions recorded price falls with only the South West registering a month-on-month rise.
"Year-on-year, the South West (-9.61%) and the South East (-5.84%) remain the weakest regional markets, which suggests that the pick-up in activity in London has not yet rippled outwards into surrounding commuter belt and second-home areas.
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Prime Sales Begin to Stabilise
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments:
"Asking prices in April edged up again (by 0.34%) after last month's fall of 0.5%. April's rise represents the fourth increase in the past five months and suggests that the stabilisation of prices in the prime London market is now an established trend.
"Prices over the month rose in three of the five sub regions. Central London and West/South West London performed best, while Islington, City & Docklands, badly hit by the recent turmoil in the financial markets, continued to post price falls.
"Year-on-year, Central London, an attractive location for international investors, was the strongest performer and asking prices were just 1.80% lower than in April 2008. Islington, City & Docklands was the weakest market with prices down 5.16% year-on-year.
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Rising Stock, Rising Demand, But Prices Still Under Pressure
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments:
Asking prices in London's prime market have been on the rise for the past four months, but in March they fell by 0.5%.
March also saw the first rise in stock levels in six months (6% month-on-month) and traffic to Primelocation.com also increased significantly. Over 2.1 million people visited the site in March; traffic up by 5% over the month and by 33% year-on-year resulting in the highest level of traffic since April 2007.
The increase in the levels of both supply and demand suggests that consumers are increasingly confident about the current state of the market, a conclusion supported by recent research by Primelocation.com. This found that 23% of property searchers believe that the market has already reached its lowest point, while 53% believe prices will be at their lowest between April and December 2009.
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Prime London: Central London First To Stabilise
Asking prices in Prime London increased by 0.94% in February, the fourth successive month of rising values. Asking prices in February rose across four of the five Prime London regions with the largest monthly increase recorded in West/South West London (2.84%).
Central London: the only region to still record positive year-on-year growth (3.24%). Outside the Capital, prices fell again for the seventh successive month, bringing the average asking prices down 0.39% on January 2009. The South West (-6.57%) and the South East (-1.58%) recorded the largest falls while the West Midlands & Wales (15.61%) and Scotland (8.14%) continued to record strong growth
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: "This is the fourth successive month that the Prime Index has recorded growth in the London market, a trend which is being driven by a decline in stock levels and the return of positive annual growth in Central London.
"Central London has always been a magnet for international capital and at the moment lower prices and the weaker pound are attracting overseas buyers in search of bargains. The recent cut in Base Rate to 0.5% will keep the pressure on the pound so this is a trend which we expect to continue in the months ahead.
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sales: rising demand boosts prime property prices
Asking prices in Prime London areas increased by 1.2% (£16,106) in January, the third successive month of rising values, according to Primelocation.com's latest House Price Index; - a unique measure of the Prime market based on a sample of over 62,000 properties in London's most prestigious areas.
Prices rose across all five Prime London regions with the largest increase recorded in West/South West London; a rise of 2.29% (£21,418). The market was especially buoyant in Hammersmith and Chiswick where asking prices rose by 14.3% month on month.
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Research, comments: "Last month we noted that the recent upturn in asking prices in Prime areas after six months of falling values provided tentative evidence that the market was stabilizing. This third month of rising prices adds further weight to that conclusion."
Agents have reported greater activity in the market for the past three months, particularly from overseas buyers attracted by lower prices and a weak pound and from cash-rich UK buyers keen to buy while the market is still unsteady.
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Prime London begins to stabilise
Asking prices in Prime London areas rose by 0.55% (£7,001) in December, the second successive month of rising values, and are now 3.8% higher than in December 2007, according to Primelocation.com's latest House Price Index.
Asking prices in December were strongest in West/South West London (0.69%) and weakest in Islington, City and Docklands (-0.17%). The price rise coincided with a reduction in the volume of available stock on the market. December's stock levels were 3.8% down on the levels recorded in December 2007.
Andrew Smith, Primelocation.com's Head of Insight, comments: "Over the past couple of months prime agents have reported a modest upturn in activity (albeit from a very low base), a trend which can be attributed to the impact of falling prices, lower interest rates and a rise in demand from overseas buyers attracted by the dip in the value of Sterling.
"This explains the recent stabilisation in asking prices and provides tentative evidence that we are beginning to approach the bottom of the market. However, it's important to bear in mind that we have a way to go yet, and buyers are still managing to negotiate substantial reductions on asking price.
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sales: no bonus boost this year
With sellers facing up to the Christmas slowdown, asking prices in the prime property market continued to fall in November, according to Primelocation.com's latest House Price Index.
Thanks to the number of frustrated sellers flooding the market, the London lettings market continues to suffer from excess stock, and the growth in new instructions continues to outpace the growth in tenant demand.
November has seen an increase in prime London values, the first month on month increase in over 6 months. In November they increased by over 0.1% since October.
Primelocation.com's Head of Insight, Andrew Smith, comments: "If this trend develops further, committed and realistic sellers should return to the market and help ease the current deadlock between buyers and sellers. However, we expect rents to remain subdued in the months ahead as further job losses and a weakening economy continue to take their toll."
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Prime market values continue to fall.
For the fifth successive month, prime London values have decreased, dropping nearly 1.1% since September.
The Prime lettings market is suffering due to large-scale job losses and the impact of the credit crunch on corporate lets creating an excess of supply over demand. Stock levels remain high and agents report that only vendors who are willing to price competitively are managing to achieve sales.
The most resilient sub-sector of the prime market, country sales, is also finally experiencing price falls. Values fell for the third successive month in October.
"Although falling interest rates and greater liquidity in the financial markets are welcome recent developments, buyer reluctance and redundancies in the City will continue to weigh heavily in the balance," says Andrew Smith, Head of Insight at Primelocation.com. "As a consequence, we expect further price falls in the months ahead."
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Prime London sale prices, prime country sale prices and prime London rental values all fall in September.
For the fourth successive month, prime London values have decreased and stock levels are at their highest, soaring 33% higher than this time last year. This is in contrast with the mainstream housing market, where RICS report that the number of people putting their home on the market continued to fall during September.
Prime country sales have also fallen for the second consecutive month, but they are still valued at 4.7% higher than last September.
Prime London rental values have continued on a downward trend as stock floods the market. The loss of jobs in the financial sector seen over the past few weeks is expected to have a severe impact on prime London sales and lettings. Large-scale job losses will result in the termination of tenancies on hundreds of top-end apartments and houses in many prime London areas and we expect this to cause values to drop further over coming months.
We are yet to see what the true impact the job losses in the city will have on the London prime market, but as the credit crunch continues to bite, it's better news for those prime buyers and renters who are still actively searching for property.
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prime London sale prices and prime London rentals fall again in August and for the first time in 2008, prime country prices also drop.
Values for residential property in prime Central London have now dropped for three consecutive months with prices down 5.37% from May. This is the largest quarterly fall recorded in the history of our index and has nearly wiped out the gains seen in 2008. This sustained downward trend is now mirroring what is being experienced in the mainstream market, which Halifax has just reported declined 10.9% since August 2007. Stock levels continue to soar and are now 46% higher than this time last year. The situation is unlikely to change until the mortgage market eases and the economic outlook improves. For the first time this year, prime country sales have fallen month on month following seven months of price rises. This could be the start of a more sustained downturn for the market which until now has been exempt from the current housing crisis.
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prime London sale prices and prime London rentals fall again in July while prime country prices seem immune to current market conditions by experiencing further price rises.
The July Prime Index the UK's leading search portal for prime properties, shows the largest monthly decline in prime London sale values since February 2004, signalling the third month out of the past four that has seen a decline in prices. The data also shows that prime London rental prices have fallen, however, country sales have increased due to a lack of stock. Although prime sales are mirroring the mainstream property market, country sales are showing the exact opposite to what is being experienced in the current UK mainstream property market with a seventh successive monthly increase.
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prime London sale prices and prime London rental prices drop in June, while country sales increase due to lack of stock.
In April we saw a fall in prime London asking prices, the first so far this year. Although the fall didn't come as a huge surprise given the current turmoil in the housing market, it did lead to questions being asked on whether this was the start of a more sustained downward trend in asking prices. In May prices rose only to fall again in this month of June, with each London borough witnessing decreases with the exception of Highgate and St John's Wood. This fall leaves the prime market relatively consistent and suggests that prices at the top end of the market may have a while to go before they start mirroring the mainstream market.
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prime London and country sales asking prices stage a slight recovery in May, while prime London rental prices drop.
Last month's fall in prime London asking prices, the first in 2008 so far, didn't come as a huge surprise to many, particularly given the performance of the mainstream market in recent months and the continuation of challenging market conditions. However, the big issue was whether this movement was signalling the start of a more sustained downward trend in asking prices. May's marginal recovery in prices suggests that the top-end of the market has yet to go the way of the mainstream market. The very top-end of the market continues to attract significant demand from overseas investors, particularly in the so-called 'golden postcodes', and this, in part, is keeping overall prices across the region from falling.
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prime London sale and rental asking prices fall for the first time in 2008, while prime country property produces only marginal gains
The latest data for April suggests that the prime London property market may be finally starting to go the way of the mainstream market, with average asking prices falling for the first time in 2008, down 0.6% since March. The slower monthly growth witnessed at the start of the year has had a significant impact on annualised growth rates, which have now diminished to 11.7% in April, the slowest rate of annual growth since September 2006.
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prime property sale prices continue to increase, while prime London rental prices soar to record levels
The divergence between the prime London market and the mainstream sector continues to grow. All of the publicity in recent times has been concentrated on the mainstream market. The impact of the credit crunch continues to be felt, particularly around mortgages, with some lenders withdrawing products for buyers with smaller deposits and others withdrawing new mortgage lending altogether. However, prime London asking prices hit new heights in March, up a further 3.3%, surpassing 1.3 million for the first time. All regions have witnessed solid growth in asking prices, with Central London the strongest performer.
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prime property prices rise again in February 2008
Given the current turmoil in the money markets and the uncertainty that continues to be fuelled by the impact of the credit crunch, the prime London property market has demonstrated some resilience so far in 2008. While the mainstream property market stutters under the combined pressures of tightened lending criteria, buyer caution and seller apathy, the prime London market has put in another solid performance in February 2008.
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it's a tale of two markets as prime London asking prices rise again, while the prime Country and mainstream markets continue to struggle
The rather gloomy picture of the prime property market in November and December 2007, illustrated by the Primelocation.com House Price Index, reflected a mood of caution from buyers alongside a glut of potential sellers attempting to achieve a sale before prices declined even further. This difficult combination led to a fall in prices and a reduction in transaction levels. However, the start of 2008 has already witnessed a significant change in the stand-off between buyers and sellers. The volume of property for sale across prime London has plummeted, down 10.7% in just one month, as potential sellers decide to wait for more favourable selling conditions. This double-digit fall in the number of properties for sale is the largest single monthly drop since the Index began and the impact has led to a temporary recovery in asking prices. Average asking prices have increased by 3.4% since December.
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prime country property asking prices fall significantly in December, while prime London prices stall
The prime London sales market ends 2007 with average prices rising by just 0.1% since November and with annual price growth of 13.0%, down from a peak of 31.2% witnessed back in June. Perhaps the most surprising element of the prime property market in 2007 has been the speed with which market sentiment changed, from the record price growth and property values achieved in the height of the summer, to the struggling and increasingly cautious market currently being experienced not just in London but across the country. Meanwhile, the prime country sales market has seen the largest fall in prices recorded since the Index began back in January 2004. The drop of 1.3% in average prices since November comes on the back of three successive months of falling prices.
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it's a mixed picture for prime London property prices in November, but prime country prices fall for the second month in succession
After three successive months of price reductions across the prime London property sector, one could be forgiven for expecting further falls in November. However, average prices in prime London achieved a marginal monthly increase of 0.4%. While the majority of London regions saw a drop in prices in November, the statistical dominance of high-value property in the 'golden postcodes' has helped keep the overall capital in positive average price growth. The over-riding picture remains subdued in November. Meanwhile, after a strong period of price growth throughout the summer, prime country property prices have started to slip into reverse, down 0.4% in November, and falling for the second month in succession.
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record stock levels of prime London and prime country property fuel further reductions in average sale prices
For the third consecutive month, prime London property prices have declined, with prices in October down 0.8% on last month. Since August 2007, the average price of a prime London property has fallen by over 22,000. However, the superprime market is withstanding the bumpier conditions witnessed in the wider property market and this is reflected in Central London, where prices have increased by 1.5% on last month. Like the prime London sales market, the prime country sales market has witnessed an increase in the number of properties for sale, up 40.0% on last year and up 5.5% on last month alone. After a period of stagnation, in which prices have failed to produce any kind of growth over the last two months, the recent surge in property stock seems finally to have impacted negatively on asking prices, which fall by 0.3% from last month.
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prime London sale and rental prices decline for the second consecutive month
Average prime London property prices fell for the second month in succession in September 2007, down 1.3% on August. The drop in prices equates to the average home losing over 14,000 in value in just one month. September 2007 marks the second month in a row where no monthly price growth has occurred in the prime country property market. The so-called 'credit crunch' has begun to spread uncertainty throughout the property market and the impact is starting to be realised, as some key regions record a drop in average prices month-on-month.
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prices for prime London property fall in August, while prime country property prices stall
Data from July 2007 highlighted the first slowdown in annual price inflation for nearly 18 months and this trend has continued into August, with annual price inflation slowing to 26.9%. Although still substantially outperforming the rest of the country, August's figure is some way down from the peak of 31.7% witnessed in June 2007 when annual price growth was at its most vigorous. Indeed, the signs are that the market is beginning to cool, with monthly prices recording a second consecutive drop in prime London, down 1.1% since July. This decline in prices has wiped over 13,000 off the average sales price of a prime London property in just one month.
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annual prime London price growth slows for the first time in seventeen months, while prime country property prices surge ahead
The dramatic annual growth in prime London property prices continues, but slows for the first time in seventeen months, from 31.8% in June 2007 to 30.0% in July 2007. Although prices are still rising month-on-month across the region, the Index reports the slowest monthly price rise since April 2006, up just 0.7% between June and July 2007. In the prime rental market, July 2007 witnessed a strong 5.2% rise in the number of rental properties on the market as activity intensifies, fuelled by both the personal and corporate lettings markets. As such, average weekly prices have dropped by 0.8% from 971 in June to 964 in July, while annual growth stood at 10.5%.
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the prime property sales and rental markets continue to break all records and to outperform the mainstream property market
Annual price inflation in the prime London property market has risen for the seventeenth consecutive month, pushing the average price of a prime London property beyond 1.2 million. The latest figures point to a 33.9% increase in sale prices over the last 12 months, the highest annual rise since the Index began back in January 2004. For some time, the prime country market has been overshadowed by the record price inflation witnessed in the capital. However, over the last few months, the market has begun setting records in its own right. A 10.2% rise in average prices is the largest annual rise in over two years, while the average price of a prime country property now stands at a record 542,481.
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- two year review May 2003 - April 2005
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- 18 month review April 2003 - October 2004
