With a growing number of people increasingly priced out of popular central London areas, an investment ripple
effect is starting to unlock dormant value in outer London areas, new research shows.
The report reveals that in outer prime areas of London, buyer-demand has soared by almost a fifth since March
2015, which is in stark contrast to the fall in demand witnessed in the exorbitant housing market in prime central
London over the same 12-month period.
With an average of 16 registered buyers vying for every property for sale during the first quarter of this year,
outer parts of London are seeing the highest levels of competition across the capital, pushing home values higher
in the process.
This fierce demand has driven a significant growth spurt in outer London, greatly outstripping the price growth
witnessed in other parts of the capital on both a quarterly and annual basis. In Balham, for instance, average
property prices are showing a 7.2% rise compared with the first quarter of last year, and have increased 3.4% in
just three months.
David Brown, CEO of Marsh & Parsons, commented: The market is brimful of buyers, and nowhere more so
than the popular addresses of outer prime London. Theres still a significant price premium to be paid for living in
the central confines of our capital, and this has drawn certain geographical battle lines for the next generation
who are increasingly focusing their efforts in outer prime territories. For first-time buyers and young professionals,
these are the places where they can afford bigger properties that offer them room to grow, and for savvy
investors, these are the places where prices still have room to grow too.
PPA Opinion:
Record high property prices, global economic chaos, falling oil prices, and tax increases for top-value property
have all conspired to paralyse the upper end of the residential property market in the capital, especially prime
central London. Properties in the outer zones of the capital, on the other hand, look cheap in comparison to the
exorbitant housing market in central London, where a two-bedroom flat can easily cost in excess of 1 million.
The introduction of an additional 3% stamp duty for anyone buying an additional home will also have an adverse
impact on demand for property in prime central London, at least in the short-term, as the market rebalances
towards first-time buyers and other owner-occupiers unaffected by the extra tax, who are likely to seek more
affordable homes in the outer London boroughs.
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