Demand for Prime Central London continues to fall

According to eMoov’s latest PCL Hotspots Index, demand for prime central London (PCL) property is at its lowest point since the start of 2015. This comes as the supply of stock on the market has risen by 21.3% since the start of the year and 9.9% since the election. By contrast, demand has fallen by 8% since June and currently stands at just 11%. 

The PCL Hotspots Index, which monitors demand for property above £2m in some of the capital’s most sought-after locations, found that Maida Vale (with a 66% decline in demand) and Chiswick (with a 53% fall in demand) were the most affected areas at the top end of the market. Fitzrovia (-33%), Primrose Hill (-25%), Islington (-19%), Knightsbridge (-16%), St Johns Wood (-14%) and Belgravia (-12%) also all saw demand tumbling by double figures since June. 

Even Chelsea (-5%), Mayfair (-5%) and Fulham (-4%), some of London’s most prestigious areas, have seen a drop in demand since the election in May. 

On the other hand, there is a tiny pocket of prime central London where demand has remained strong since the Conservatives unexpected victory eased uncertainties in the property market. Notting Hill, for example, has seen a huge rise of 112% since June, with demand currently standing at 26%. Nearby Holland Park (up by 59%) and Kensington (up by 17%) have also experienced healthy growth in demand, while demand for properties in Marylebone has also gone up by 17%.

Elsewhere, demand has started to rise again in Belsize Park, with a 3% increase in the past three months. Nonetheless, demand in prime central London is currently significantly lower than the rest of the capital.

“We, along with many others, predicted a tough time for prime central London since 2014, and it would seem this has now well and truly come to fruition,” said Russell Quirk, Founder and CEO of eMoov. “There were signs that the top end of the London market might be thawing when we ran our PCL Hotspots Index back in May, but it seems it’s not just the British weather that has turned with a cold snap.”

“Although there are areas where demand has picked up, most notably in Notting Hill and Holland Park, this hasn’t been enough to turn the tide for the PCL market as a whole. One reason behind this is no doubt the increase of stock flooding the market.”

He added: “With PCL property listings having increased by more than 20% since the start of the year, it would seem the foreign London property investors have started to cash in their chips, whilst the high end estate agents might have started pawning their Rolex’s.”