Top-end homes in Mayfair and St James’s offloaded at 20 per cent below asking price
Several prime central London postcodes are seeing homes sell at a considerable discount of up to 20 per cent per square foot, according to new data shared with City PM this morning.
In many areas there is a notable difference between the expectations of home sellers and the price that buyers are willing to pay, according to research by real estate advisory Astons.
This difference is at its largest in the W1K postcode of Mayfair and St James’s, where homes are currently asking £2,619 per square foot, the most expensive of all prime central London postcodes.
While the average sold price in the postcode remains the highest in prime central London, at £2,100 per square foot, it also means the postcode is home to the largest discount in the cost of real estate, at about 20 per cent.
Astons analysed the average asking price of property in London’s most prestigious postcodes and how they compare to the price at which they are actually selling.
Mayfair and St James’s
Mayfair and St James’s are home to the top three postcodes with the biggest difference between asking and sold prices at present, with the W1J (-18 per cent) and W1S (-12 per cent) postcodes also seeing some of the largest discounts.
In the W8 postcode of Kensington, the average home is selling for roughly the same as the average asking price.
However, there is one part of prime central London where buyers are having to dig deeper in order to secure a home.
Chelsea’s SW10 postcode is seeing homes sell at an average of £1,256 per square foot, a notable 4 per cent more than the average asking price of £1,208.
“Much of the regular UK market is overheating at present due to heightened buyer demand brought on as a result of the stamp duty holiday,” explained Astons managing director Arthur Sarkisian, adding that “the result of this demand being a lack of available stock which is causing many buyers to pay above market values simply to secure a property.”
However, “this hasn’t been the case across the prime central London market as stamp duty, although a considerable sum, simply isn’t a financial barrier to buying for those with the financial means to do so,” he noted.
Moreover, “we have also seen the current pandemic impact demand for prime central London homes over the last year and so this is also a contributing factor as to why homes are selling for less than advertised,” Sarkisian concluded.