The borough of Wandsworth sits top as London’s prime property hotspot over the last year, accounting for the highest level of £1 million property market transactions, according to Bective.
The agent analysed sold price data across the London market in 2021, looking at the number of transactions to have taken place for £1 million or more, breaking the market down by borough to see which areas were driving this high-end market activity.
Overall winner
The data shows that 6,312 property transactions have taken place over the last year for £1 million or more across the London market.
The London borough of Wandsworth accounts for the highest percentage of these high-end transactions at 11%, with Kensington and Chelsea (9%) and Richmond (8%) also home to a high proportion.
The core market (£1m-£3m)
This prime property dominance by the borough of Wandsworth has been largely focused across the core market, with the borough again accounting for 11% of all transactions completing between £1 million and £3 million in 2021.
However, Richmond ranks second accounting for 9% of all transactions at this price threshold, followed by Kensington and Chelsea (7%).
The mid-prime market (£3m-£5m)
Conversely, the higher price tiers of the prime London property market are still very much driven by demand across traditionally desirable areas.
Of the 438 purchases between £3 million and £5 million, Kensington and Chelsea account for 23%, with Westminster also accounting for a sizable proportion at 21%.
The prime market (£5m-plus)
This is also the case across the capital’s very top tier, with 43% of the 212 homes purchased above £5 million located in Kensington and Chelsea, while Westminster accounts for 24% of these transactions.
Will Wandsworth dominate the market in 2022?
Craig Tonkin, head of sales at Bective, comments: “We’ve seen a healthy level of activity across the prime market over the last year, all things considered, and this looks set to continue in 2022 with foreign demand expected to drive an uplift in transactions and sold prices.”
“Of course, the pandemic influence of the last 18 months is clear with many buyers across the core market looking to the likes of Wandsworth due to the greater abundance of larger family homes.”
Wandsworth itself is home to a wide range of housing stock and the regeneration of Nine Elms, in particular, is helping to boost buyer demand due to improved transport infrastructure, the availability of new housing and investment into retail and office space drawing big names such as Apple to the area.
Tonkin adds: “However, at the very top price thresholds of the market, the prime central heartlands of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster remain the most active areas of the market. Even a global pandemic is unlikely to dampen high-end buyer appetites for the most desirable homes in the nation, if not the world.”
