Following a strong second half to 2020, which carried on during the first half of 2021 due to the stamp duty holiday, you’d have been forgiven for believing that Q3 2021 would be quieter. Instead, the number of homes sold at £2 million or more is up 5% versus Q3 2020 and 21% higher than the 2015 to 2019 average. Prices are on the increase too, with both houses and flats recording annual increases in September. For those looking to renew a rental agreement, or search for a new place to rent, the increased demand has already led to prices rising to pre-pandemic levels given availability across prime London stock has fallen by 68% compared with the same point a year ago.
However, simplistic statements often mask what’s happening in the capital’s property market, as well as in the commuter belt – which has expanded as people have continued to work from home for several days a week.
Proviving a whistle-stop tour of what’s really been happening and what homebuyers and investors might want to consider in the coming months, David McFadzean, head of wealth management, spoke to Marcus Dixon of LonRes and Mark Francis and Jane James from London’s Surveyors and Valuers.