Home Press releases Property marketPrime London buyer demand stalls in Q1

Prime London buyer demand stalls in Q1

The latest Prime London Buyer Demand Index by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, shows that buyer demand for both prime London homes (£2m+) and super prime property (£10m+) has fallen during the first quarter of the year, with just a handful of locations seeing an increase in buyer appetites.

The Prime London Demand Index by Benham and Reeves monitors demand for London’s most expensive properties based on the level of market activity seen between the £2m to £10m threshold and the super prime market of £10m+. Demand is based on the proportion of all homes listed for sale across the prime market that have already been sold subject to contract.

Prime Market – £2m-£10m
The latest index by Benham and Reeves shows that buyer demand across London’s core prime market fell by -1.7% in Q1 2024, with fewer than one in five (19%) of homes listed finding a buyer.

Demand across the core segment of the prime London market was also down on an annual basis by -1.8%.

Chiswick was home to the strongest level of prime London buyer demand at 49.1%, however, it’s Canary Wharf that has seen the largest quarterly increase, up 7.7% since Q4 of last year.

Wandsworth (+6.3%) and Fulham (+3.9%) also saw some of the strongest quarterly increases in demand, with Putney enjoying the largest annual increase at +13.3%.

Super Prime Market – £10m+
Across the super prime London market, buyer demand remained largely static on a quarterly basis, falling by just -0.1% between Q4 of last year and the first quarter of 2024. However, when compared to Q1 of last year, super prime buyer demand has fallen by -5.5% annually.

Marylebone is the hottest spot of the super prime market at present, with 6.5% of all homes listed finding a buyer in Q1 2024.

Victoria has seen the strongest uplift in buyer demand in Q1, climbing by +5.6% versus Q4 2023, followed by Regents Park (+5%) and Marylebone (+3.5%).

At +3.1%, Belgravia has seen the strongest uplift in super prime buyer demand on an annual basis.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“We had seen signs that buyers were returning to London’s high-end housing market but this momentum seems to have stalled during the first three months of this year and it’s likely that this trend could continue with the removal of non-dom status from April next year.

It’s not just the prime sales market that is struggling. While London overall continues to benefit from extremely high rental demand, appetite for prime rentals has fallen, with enquiries down between four to eight percent across prime rental thresholds.”

£2m to £10m – Table shows quarterly demand for prime London properties, as well as quarterly and annual change
Area	Prime category	Q1 2024	Q Change	Annual change
Putney	Prime SW London	41.1%	-0.8%	13.3%
Chiswick	Prime SW London	49.1%	-3.0%	11.6%
Fulham	Prime SW London	25.0%	3.9%	9.4%
Wandsworth	Prime SW London	31.8%	6.3%	9.4%
Highgate	Prime NW London	28.8%	-12.0%	3.8%
Pimlico	Prime C London	11.1%	3.4%	1.9%
Battersea	Prime SW London	19.7%	3.6%	1.1%
Maida Vale	Prime C London	14.1%	3.7%	0.8%
Fitzrovia	Prime C London	4.4%	-3.6%	0.4%
Canary Wharf	Prime E London	7.7%	7.7%	-0.3%
St John’s Wood	Prime C London	9.9%	-0.6%	-0.5%
Mayfair	Prime C London	7.0%	-0.7%	-0.7%
Notting Hill	Prime C London	19.3%	-2.1%	-1.0%
Marylebone	Prime C London	5.0%	-2.1%	-1.3%
Islington	Prime N London	43.5%	1.7%	-2.4%
Kensington	Prime C London	11.5%	-1.3%	-2.9%
Chelsea	Prime C London	13.2%	-0.4%	-3.1%
Holland Park	Prime C London	17.3%	-0.4%	-3.3%
Wimbledon	Prime SW London	31.2%	-9.6%	-3.5%
Knightsbridge	Prime C London	8.6%	-3.5%	-4.2%
Regents Park	Prime C London	5.4%	-10.0%	-4.4%
Clapham	Prime SW London	37.3%	-11.8%	-4.9%
Victoria	Prime C London	8.6%	-2.0%	-5.8%
Belgravia	Prime C London	8.1%	-2.5%	-6.8%
Barnes	Prime SW London	32.3%	-1.0%	-11.3%
Hampstead Garden Suburb	Prime NW London	5.7%	-5.9%	-12.9%
Richmond	Prime SW London	29.2%	-4.6%	-14.6%
Wapping	Prime E London	5.9%	0.0%	-17.6%
Overall average		19.0%	-1.7%	-1.8%

£10m+ – Table shows quarterly demand for super prime London properties, as well as quarterly and annual change
Area	Prime category	Q1 2024	Q Change	Annual change
Barnes	Prime SW London	0.0%	0.0%	n/a
Belgravia	Prime C London	3.1%	0.9%	3.1%
Victoria	Prime C London	5.6%	5.6%	2.0%
Fitzrovia	Prime C London	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Hampstead Garden Suburb	Prime NW London	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Highgate	Prime NW London	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Battersea	Prime SW London	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Fulham	Prime SW London	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Mayfair	Prime C London	1.9%	-3.8%	-1.4%
Regents Park	Prime C London	5.0%	5.0%	-2.1%
Marylebone	Prime C London	6.5%	3.5%	-4.1%
Knightsbridge	Prime C London	2.1%	-0.4%	-4.6%
St John’s Wood	Prime C London	3.4%	3.4%	-5.9%
Kensington	Prime C London	3.5%	1.9%	-6.1%
Chelsea	Prime C London	0.0%	-8.5%	-8.3%
Notting Hill	Prime C London	0.0%	-9.1%	-10.0%
Maida Vale	Prime C London	0.0%	0.0%	-12.5%
Holland Park	Prime C London	0.0%	-4.3%	-20.0%
Pimlico	Prime C London	0.0%	0.0%	-33.3%
Overall average		1.6%	-0.1%	-5.5%

Data sourced from Rightmove
The Prime London Demand Index by Benham and Reeves monitors demand for London’s most expensive
properties based on the level of market activity seen between the £2m to £10m threshold and the super
prime market of £10m+. Demand is based on the proportion
of all homes listed for sale across the prime market that have already been sold subject to contract.

About the Author

Established in 1958, Benham and Reeves is one of London’s oldest, independently owned property lettings and sales agents. With specialism in residential sales, corporate lettings and property management in prime areas of London, the company operates from 21 prominently located branches and 14 international offices.

View all posts by Benham & Reeves