Buyers look to Notting Hill as prime central sales rise 8% on pre-pandemic levels
Demand for prime central properties is 31 per cent ahead of July 2019 as buyers prioritise green spaces following the pandemic.
Sales in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are up 8 per cent compared to June and July 2019, according to estate agents Winkworth.
There has been a 20 per cent increase in rental demand in June and July, bouncing back from a 27 per cent fall.
Buyers have been pursuing green spaces after lockdown with Notting Hill a top choice and houses in the West London area receiving offers £1m higher than before coronavirus.
“This is domestic demand, which includes international clients based in London. People are desperate to return and get on with their lives and we should see the positive impact, as travel becomes easier,” Winkworth chief executive Dominic Agace said on The Property Exchange podcast.
“For investors, there is an opportunity in certain areas of prime central London to buy flats at the lower prices and rent them out to international students who are beginning to return to the capital and universities,” Agace added.
Houses in Elgin, Blenheim or Lansdowne Crescents, have been particularly desirable with houses selling before they reach the open market.