Buyers spent £11.6bn across prime areas of London in 2021, the highest amount of any year since 2000, according to research by LonRes.
Achieved prices rose 7.2% in Q4 2021 compared to the same period a year ago according to the research.
Overall 2021 saw 16% more flats and 57% more houses transact than the average sold annually between 2015 and 2019.
However, transactions (exchanges) were down 14% in Q4 2021 compared with Q4 2020 and 5% lower than the average Q4 between 2015 and 2019.
The research found that the market at £5m plus homes was the busiest in Q4 2021. The number of sales recorded were up 15% on Q4 2020 and 57% higher than the Q4 average between 2015 and 2019.
Marcus Dixon, head of research at LonRes, said: “In 2021 buyers bought bigger and spent more. Total property spend exceeded £11.6 billion in 2021, the highest annual spend since LonRes records began in 2000. Over half this total went on houses. The value of houses sold topped £6.1 billion in 2021, 26% higher than the previous record spend in 2014.
“There was price growth across all LonRes areas with Prime Central London (PCL) leading the way. Annual prices in PCL rose by 6.5% in 2021.
“The top end of the market, which we define as properties sold for £5m or more, was the busiest in the fourth quarter of the year. Over Q4 2021 the number of homes (houses and flats) sold rose 15% on 2020 and 47% on the previous five-year average.
“Demand, which had been building at the end of the year is likely to spill into Q1 2022 when we would expect to see the volume of sales rise again. The number of properties put under offer was up 22% in Q4 2021 compared with the long-run average and on par with a busy fourth quarter in 2020.”
Table 1 – Annual change in achieved prices
| PCL | Prime London | Prime Fringe | All Prime | |
| Q1 20 | 8.3% | -1.0% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Q2 20 | -6.9% | 1.7% | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| Q3 20 | 0.0% | 4.0% | 2.8% | 2.6% |
| Q4 20 | -2.5% | 7.5% | 2.5% | 1.0% |
| Q1 21 | -3.3% | -0.6% | -3.2% | -4.8% |
| Q2 21 | -0.7% | -2.0% | 1.8% | -4.3% |
| Q3 21 | 6.5% | 4.8% | 0.8% | 6.1% |
| Q4 21 | 6.7% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 7.2% |
