Opinion

London's Residential Property Market Goes From Strength To Strength

London's residential property market is performing exceedingly well, according to a new review.

The London property market is showing strong signs of growth and resilience, with news of prime central prices in the capital rising by 53 per cent since March 2009. This was revealed in Knight Frank's Spring 2013 London Residential Review.

This is all the more significant in that the prices today are 16.5 per cent higher than they were in March 2008. This was the previous market peak and, as can be derived by the date, preludes the global financial crisis that hit the property market hard.

According to Knight Frank, London's property market has "retained its spark"; such is the global appeal of the city. Accordingly, house prices have risen for the last four years and, as the figures suggest, will continue to do so in the years to come. European cities have not fared so well.

"London's relatively healthy rate of price growth compares with a somewhat anaemic -1.4 per cent for New York, -4 per cent for Paris and -6 per cent for Geneva," stated Liam Bailey, global head of residential research.

"Over the last two years the proportion of £1 million plus sales in London to non-UK buyers was 51 per cent, rising to 60 per cent for properties priced above £5 million".

This, Mr Bailey confirmed, suggests that high net worth individuals across the globe looking to make sensible and lucrative investments are doing so in London.

Last year was remarkable for the UK's capital for the fact that price growth was miles ahead of other western city markets (8.7 per cent). South Kensington in particular has witnessed a large amount of activity, with international buyers snapping up properties in the affluent borough.

"London is an interesting economic microclimate," the report noted. "The city's recovery from the financial crisis has been much stronger than that of the UK as a   whole and while the wider economy has flirted with a triple-dip recession in 2012, London remained resilient."

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