Super prime sellers are returning to London’s housing market, as listings of homes valued over £10m increased by 5.1% annually, Benham and Reeves has revealed.
Benham and Reeves analysed current residential listings of prime – £2m to £10m – and super prime – £10m-plus – homes in London, compared with those from this time last year.
The current number of super prime listings in London was 5.1% higher than this time last year, with 431 homes listed on the market for £10m or more, up from 410 annually.
The biggest annual increase was in Highgate, where the number of homes listed for sale with a value of £10m-plus increased from two to five.
This rise represented an annual increase of 150% in available stock – the strongest growth in London.
In Holland Park, there were 23 super prime homes for sale, representing an annual uptick of 43.8%, while Belgravia saw an increase of 32.4%.
Other London markets to see an increase in super prime listings in the past year were Fitzrovia (20%), Chelsea (11.9%), Victoria (11.5%), Mayfair (10.4%), and Kensington (5.2%).
When it came to London’s core prime market of homes valued between £2m to £10m, the outlook was slightly more muted, with listings staying largely static.
The number of prime listings was 4,832 compared with 4,826 last year, an annual increase of just 0.1%.
However, Clapham saw the number of prime listings rise from 37 to 55, an annual increase of 48.6%, while Wandsworth saw an increase of 34.2%, and Highgate listings rose 25.6%.
Other London markets to see an annual increase in prime listings of 10% or more were Victoria (15.3%), Hampstead Garden Suburbs (14.5%), Belgravia (14.2%), Barnes (13.5%), Mayfair (13%), and Battersea (11.1%).
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “Broad economic uncertainty is as much a deterrent to the super-wealthy as it is the average buyer and in recent market conditions, sellers at all levels of the market have been sitting tight and waiting for the UK’s economic picture to improve.
“But improve it has, and buyers are now returning, tempted by improving market stability following four consecutive decisions to keep interest rates frozen.
“In response, sellers are also returning in order to capitalise on this growing level of market activity and we’ve seen a notable increase in for sale stock levels across numerous prime London neighbourhoods.
“This should help breathe new life into the prime London market and the predominant opinion is that 2024 should be a strong year across the top tiers of the London market.”
He continued: “We’re also seeing good activity across the prime lettings space and we’ve seen both an increase in the number of enquiries above £10,000 per week and suitable stock to satisfy these enquiries.
“However, the very top tier isn’t quite as straightforward as these clients have very specific requirements.
“For example, one such client wants a building with house cars on offer to drop off on request and currently only two such buildings offer this service, which limits their choice.”
