South West London under pressure
For the first time since June 2012, annual price falls in prime South West London have exceeded those in prime central London. Values in central London slipped by a marginal 0.9% in the final quarter of 2017, with annual price falls of 4%.
Across the more domestic prime South West London, values fell by an average of 1.6% in the last three months of 2017 and 4.2% over the year, making it the capital’s weakest prime market segment.
The prime central London housing market appears to be ahead of the curve in adjusting to current market conditions. Values are, on average, 15.9% below their 2014 peak, ahead of the first significant stamp duty increase. However, the rate of price falls has slowed and values are now finding a level.
In prime South West London, the falls have been less than half those seen in prime central London.
Fulham, the market that traditionally behaves more in line with central London than the rest of South West London, has recorded the steepest falls in this submarket. Prices fell by 4.6% in 2017 and are down 14.4% on the 2014 peak, in line with locations such as Knightsbridge and Holland Park.
This means average values in Fulham, which passed the £1,000 psf mark in 2013, have now fallen back to £890. This is just below the £910 prime Battersea average and well below Chelsea’s £1,600. This repositions Fulham as a value location for those looking to make their equity stretch further than in prime central London.