Price of London's richest homes soars 31% in a year
Bumper City bonuses and an influx of foreign buyers are driving up house prices in London's smartest areas at the fastest rate for 28 years, a report showed yesterday.
Estate agent Knight Frank said the average price of million pound-plus homes in prime central London areas such as Belgravia, Mayfair and Chelsea leapt by 2.6 per cent in February alone to stand a staggering 31 per cent higher than a year earlier. That is the highest annual rate of increase since 1979, and is triple that for the UK as a whole.
The Gatehouse, a penthouse in Uxbridge Street, Notting Hill, is one example of how prices at the top end of the market have soared. It was on the market two and a half years ago for £4.5m and failed to sell. It was put back on the market two months ago and was quickly snapped up for £6m, above guide price.
Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's head of residential research, said prices continued to be pushed higher by a chronic lack of supply. And while big City bonuses were another factor, he said the biggest boost had come from an increasing number of wealthy overseas buyers, especially from Russia, Italy, France, and the Middle East.
"Our forecast that prices in prime central London will grow by 12 per cent this year could well be an underestimate," he said. "Prices have already moved higher by 5.6 per cent in the first two months of the year and we expect that the next two to three months will see the strong market conditions remaining."
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Estate agent Knight Frank said the average price of million pound-plus homes in prime central London areas such as Belgravia, Mayfair and Chelsea leapt by 2.6 per cent in February alone to stand a staggering 31 per cent higher than a year earlier. That is the highest annual rate of increase since 1979, and is triple that for the UK as a whole.
The Gatehouse, a penthouse in Uxbridge Street, Notting Hill, is one example of how prices at the top end of the market have soared. It was on the market two and a half years ago for £4.5m and failed to sell. It was put back on the market two months ago and was quickly snapped up for £6m, above guide price.
Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's head of residential research, said prices continued to be pushed higher by a chronic lack of supply. And while big City bonuses were another factor, he said the biggest boost had come from an increasing number of wealthy overseas buyers, especially from Russia, Italy, France, and the Middle East.
"Our forecast that prices in prime central London will grow by 12 per cent this year could well be an underestimate," he said. "Prices have already moved higher by 5.6 per cent in the first two months of the year and we expect that the next two to three months will see the strong market conditions remaining."
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Labels: London house prices, UK house prices
