Average central London property price ‘rising by £1,200+ per day’

Average central London property price ‘rising by £1,200+ per day’

New research shows that prime London property prices rose 1% in November, contributing to annual growth of 12.6%. Prices have risen 39.5% since their post-credit-crunch low in March 2009, and are now at a record high, 6.2% above their previous peak in March 2008.
According to Knight Frank’s Prime Central London Index for November 2011, average prices for prime central London properties have hit £3.19m, meaning that a typical prime London property has risen in value by more than £1,202 per day over the past year.

Says Knight Frank’s head of residential research, Liam Bailey, “It is instructive to note that this growth has taken place against the backdrop of ever-worsening global economic news and rising threats of a second credit crunch.

“Our analysis of market activity in the three-month period to November, compared to the same period in 2010, confirms a positive picture of demand and sales activity, demonstrating that the increasingly apocalyptic news headlines are not having a significant impact on the prime London market.

“Sales volumes are running 17% higher than a year ago, although this is driven purely by the sub-£5m market, which is up 20%. Though the £5m+ market has been relatively flat, sales ‘subject to contract’ are up 28% year on year in this bracket.

“On the demand side, new applicant registrations are up 12% over the year (6% for the sub-£5m market and 40% for the £5m+ market). This positive reading is more than matched by supply, where new instructions to sell are higher by 15% (10% sub-£5m and 44% over £5m).

“Though stock levels are rising, the ratio of new applicant registrations to new instructions has slipped only very slightly, from 4.2 in late 2010 to 4.1 in November this year.

“Despite growing global economic instability, our forecast for the prime central London market in 2012 is for positive price growth, but at a slower pace than we have seen over the past two years. We are expecting a rise of 5% across the whole of next year."