The prime London sales market was mixed in June, data suggests.
Figures from Rightmove shows average prime market values fell last month but activity is showing a slight improvement.
There were 4.8% more sales transactions in June than a year earlier but 2.1% fewer than the 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic) June average. LonRes said.
New sales instructions in June were 2.2% higher than last year and 13.3% higher than the 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic) June average. The stock of available homes for sale at the end of June was 3.1% higher than a year earlier but remains lower than the peak reached in September last year.
TOP OF THE MARKET
Meanwhile, transactions in the £5m+ market were 7.1% higher in June than the same month last year.
New instructions in this section of the market decreased by 17.3% over the same period.
The number of £5m+ homes available for sale across prime London at the end of June was 3.3% lower than a year earlier.
Nick Gregori, head of research at LonRes, says: “June saw trends in the prime London sales market continue from where they’d left off in May, with slight annual growth in instructions and transactions but a further fall in values and a lot of withdrawals.
“Compared to longer-term trends there is less balance in the current market, with more supply than demand and much of that supply subject to price reductions.”
ON THE GROUND
But Gregori adds that the mildly positive data for June sits in contrast to the latest feedback from agents, who reported an increasingly difficult market as we move into summer.
He adds: “With many deals taking months to get from under offer to exchange, it is not necessarily a surprise that these viewpoints are not aligned, but they suggest limited chance of a more significant recovery. Specific comments noted that buyers seemed particularly hesitant and non-committal, leading to last-minute fall throughs in some cases. The rising number of withdrawals includes some homes that may have been on the market for a while where vendors are choosing not to reduce prices further.”
The trends at the top end of the market are broadly the same, with the more discretionary nature of super prime buyers and sellers meaning urgency is in even shorter supply, Gregori says.
He adds: “At this price point there is additional uncertainty from the change in Prime Minister, centred around whether this could restart the debate about property and wealth taxes. On the international side, based on oil price movements the conflict in Iran appears to be winding down though, as I write (in early July), both sides have this week accused the other of breaking ceasefire agreements.”
