Prime London Market Accounts for 12% of London Property Sales in 2021

Research by central London estate agency, Bective, has revealed areas of the prime London market that have been most active in 2021 based on both price threshold and location.

Bective’s analysis of Land Registry sold price records dissects the market based on the number of transactions seen at £1m-£3m, £3m-£5m and £5m+ across each borough.

The research shows that across all segments of the prime market, 3,381 transactions have taken place during the first half of this year, accounting for 12% of all London property sales.

The core market – £1m-£3m

The core prime market has been the most active during the first six months of the year, accounting for 10.8% of the 28,210 homes sold across London so far this year.

With an average sold price of just over £1.3m, properties at this tier of the market are selling for 153% more than the London average.

Kensington and Chelsea has seen 197 transactions complete at this rung of the market, accounting for 39% of the 508 homes sold in the borough in 2021.

Hammersmith and Fulham (34%), Westminster (33%) and Camden (30%) have also seen 30% or more of homes sold in their respective boroughs do so for between £1m and £3m, while in Richmond and Islington a quarter of transactions sit within this price range.

The mid-market – £3m+ to £5m

Across the mid-prime market, 214 transactions have completed so far this year equating to just 0.8% of all London transactions.

With an average sold price of £3.65m, this segment of the market comes in some 609% more expensive than the London average.

While Kensington sits top with 11% of all homes sold at this price threshold again, Westminster ranks second with 8% of all transactions completed in the borough between £3m to £5m.

With just 4% of the overall transactions taking place at this level of the prime market, Camden also places above Hammersmith and Fulham (2%).

The prime market – £5m+

There have been just 117 homes sold over the £5m threshold so far in London this year, amounting to 0.4% of total transactions across the capital.

With an average sold price of £7.1m, the cost of purchasing within the prime market comes in at 1,279% higher than the average London home.

Only 12 out of the 32 boroughs have seen transactions at this price point this year, with just five boroughs seeing more than a handful of sales.

In Kensington and Chelsea, 54 homes have sold for more than £5m in 2021, accounting for 11% of all homes sold in this borough.

Westminster (6%) and Camden (2%) again rank high, along with Merton (0.4%) and Richmond (0.3%).

Bective Revenues Director, Craig Tonkin, commented:

“Unlike much of the UK, London’s top tier property market hasn’t been hit by the same level of homebuyer hysteria as a result of the stamp duty holiday.

However, that’s not to say it hasn’t played a part and market activity in the first half of this year has certainly benefited.

However, looking forward we expect the return of international interest to play a far more pivotal role over the remainder of the year.

We’ve already seen buyer registrations from all corners increase by 81% in the last month alone which is an extremely positive indicator.

Property values across the likes of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster are also some twenty to twenty-five per cent off previous market peaks so there is still a strong level of growth potential.

When coupled with the fact that interest rates remain at an all-time low, we should see a strong finish to the year across much of the London market.”

General prime market – £1m to £3m
Location	All Transactions	Transctions between £1m & £3m	£1m to £3m as % of all	Average sold price – All	Average sold price – £1m to £3m	Price difference (%)
Kensington and Chelsea	508	197	39%	£1,200,000	£1,550,000	29%
Hammersmith and Fulham	612	209	34%	£757,500	£1,435,000	89%
City of Westminster	561	184	33%	£930,000	£1,366,250	47%
Camden	591	180	30%	£762,000	£1,513,500	99%
Richmond upon Thames	1,035	267	26%	£692,500	£1,350,000	95%
Islington	542	136	25%	£650,000	£1,348,500	107%
Wandsworth	1,511	341	23%	£662,500	£1,290,000	95%
Barnet	1,174	201	17%	£610,000	£1,275,000	109%
City of London	37	6	16%	£712,000	£1,121,300	57%
Hackney	683	108	16%	£582,000	£1,237,500	113%
Haringey	700	103	15%	£559,500	£1,350,000	141%
Brent	580	74	13%	£563,125	£1,387,500	146%
Southwark	868	109	13%	£567,500	£1,300,000	129%
Lambeth	1,107	139	13%	£560,000	£1,295,000	131%
Ealing	812	101	12%	£530,000	£1,375,000	159%
Merton	779	93	12%	£548,000	£1,250,000	128%
Hounslow	635	60	9%	£480,000	£1,348,750	181%
Kingston upon Thames	788	69	9%	£546,000	£1,200,000	120%
Tower Hamlets	702	59	8%	£510,000	£1,177,400	131%
Harrow	673	50	7%	£550,000	£1,215,125	121%
Bromley	1,768	98	6%	£500,000	£1,215,000	143%
Enfield	931	47	5%	£473,000	£1,150,000	143%
Lewisham	1,065	47	4%	£490,000	£1,250,000	155%
Redbridge	842	37	4%	£490,000	£1,165,000	138%
Greenwich	882	35	4%	£450,000	£1,300,000	189%
Hillingdon	980	26	3%	£465,000	£1,242,500	167%
Sutton	945	19	2%	£450,000	£1,120,000	149%
Havering	1,280	19	1%	£410,000	£1,200,000	193%
Croydon	1,401	19	1%	£425,000	£1,250,000	194%
Waltham Forest	1,119	11	1%	£520,000	£1,160,500	123%
Newham	563	2	0.4%	£425,000	£1,110,000	161%
Bexley	1,129	4	0.4%	£400,000	£1,240,000	210%
London	28,210	3,050	10.8%	£515,000	£1,302,250	153%
Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid records based on the total number of transactions and average sold prices across each price threshold for Category A residential purchases excluding properties listed by type as ‘other’.

Mid-prime market – £3m to £5m
Location	All Transactions	Transctions between £3m+ & £5m	£3m+ to £5m as % of all	Average sold price – All	Average sold price – £3m+ to £5m	Price difference (%)
Kensington and Chelsea	508	55	11%	£1,200,000	£3,800,000	217%
City of Westminster	561	46	8%	£930,000	£3,575,000	284%
Camden	591	25	4%	£762,000	£3,700,000	386%
Hammersmith and Fulham	612	11	2%	£757,500	£3,470,000	358%
Islington	542	8	1%	£650,000	£3,121,728	380%
Merton	779	11	1%	£548,000	£3,875,000	607%
Richmond upon Thames	1,035	11	1%	£692,500	£3,750,000	442%
Southwark	868	8	1%	£567,500	£3,562,550	528%
Wandsworth	1,511	9	1%	£662,500	£3,700,000	458%
Barnet	1,174	6	1%	£610,000	£3,527,500	478%
Hounslow	635	3	0.5%	£480,000	£3,500,000	629%
Haringey	700	3	0.4%	£559,500	£3,879,000	593%
Kingston upon Thames	788	3	0.4%	£546,000	£3,320,000	508%
Brent	580	2	0.3%	£563,125	£3,425,000	508%
Bromley	1,768	4	0.2%	£500,000	£3,466,667	593%
Lambeth	1,107	2	0.2%	£560,000	£3,765,000	572%
Hackney	683	1	0.1%	£582,000	£4,200,000	622%
Tower Hamlets	702	1	0.1%	£510,000	£3,500,000	586%
Greenwich	882	1	0.1%	£450,000	£3,235,000	619%
Enfield	931	1	0.1%	£473,000	£3,850,000	714%
Hillingdon	980	1	0.1%	£465,000	£3,950,000	749%
Lewisham	1,065	1	0.1%	£490,000	£3,500,000	614%
Croydon	1,401	1	0.1%	£425,000	£3,000,000	606%
London	28,210	214	0.8%	£515,000	£3,650,000	609%
Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid records based on the total number of transactions and average sold prices across each price threshold for Category A residential purchases excluding properties listed by type as ‘other’.

Upper-prime market – £5m plus
Location	All Transactions	Transctions above £5m	£5m+ as % of all	Average sold price – All	Average sold price – £5m+	Price difference (%)
Kensington and Chelsea	508	54	11%	£1,200,000	£7,675,000	540%
City of Westminster	561	31	6%	£930,000	£7,500,000	706%
Camden	591	13	2%	£762,000	£7,250,000	851%
Merton	779	4	0.5%	£548,000	£5,823,750	963%
Richmond upon Thames	1,035	4	0.4%	£692,500	£6,950,000	904%
Haringey	700	2	0.3%	£559,500	£8,250,000	1375%
Kingston upon Thames	788	2	0.3%	£546,000	£6,222,500	1040%
Wandsworth	1,511	3	0.2%	£662,500	£5,685,500	758%
Ealing	812	1	0.1%	£530,000	£5,545,000	946%
Redbridge	842	1	0.1%	£490,000	£23,300,000	4655%
Enfield	931	1	0.1%	£473,000	£5,750,000	1116%
Barnet	1,174	1	0.1%	£610,000	£12,500,000	1949%
London	28,210	117	0.4%	£515,000	£7,100,000	1279%
Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid records based on the total number of transactions and average sold prices across each price threshold for Category A residential purchases excluding properties listed by type as ‘other’.