After an extraordinary 18 months – and the end of the stamp duty holiday and start of a return to the office – buyers and sellers in the UK’s prime property markets may well be asking themselves what happens next. Our panel of experts gave their analysis and views during our latest webinar. You can watch the full discussion here or read on for a summary of some of the topics raised.

I’m thinking of selling but have I missed the boat?

Given the strength of the 2020/21 regional markets, would-be sellers may be wondering if they’ve left it too late. But in our latest survey of buyers and sellers, conducted in September, 15 per cent of respondents said they had become more committed to moving at some point in the next year. That’s despite the ending of the stamp duty holiday and, while it’s lower than the 21 per cent that we saw in our June survey, it does suggest there’s strong unmet demand across the prime markets.

Villages are still favoured by 42 per cent, although interestingly 3.3 per cent said a city centre location has become more appealing, which is a big shift from the -21 per cent reported in the summer. Importantly, 61 per cent said a lack of stock has significantly inhibited their ability to buy.

We believe that the current supply and demand imbalance is likely to continue to sustain prices for country houses and prime regional property. It will remain a seller’s market in the short term at least, particularly for property that is well-presented and correctly priced from the outset.

Is central London bouncing back?

When the housing market reopened last year the regional markets were the star performers as buyers began the race for space. Prime central London was held back by international travel restrictions but in the third quarter of this year, we started to see modest price growth meaning that, year on year, values are up 1.4 per cent (see Prime London House Prices – Q3 2021).

International demand is returning, primarily from North America, the Middle East and Europe so far, and the marketplace is now considerably more dynamic. Prices are still approximately 20 per cent below their 2014 peak and crucially, given the international nature of the market, there is still a currency advantage with values 35 per cent below where they were in June 2014 in US dollar terms.

Property in prime central London is seen as a good buy and purchasers frustrated by many months of delay are keen to act quickly.

Further information

Contact Frances Clacy or Jonathan Hewlett

Webinar: Will there be a rebalancing in the housing market?

Contact Savills Residential Research