A Changing Prime Central London Market

Harwood Advisory founder Sami Robertson shares his thoughts on the changing Prime Central London property market, why long-held assumptions are being challenged and where that may be creating new opportunities for buyers.

Markets move when people move on.

But even after all these years working in prime central London, I never thought I’d see some of what we’re seeing today.

I know of a property that sold for around £15m in 2007. It has recently changed hands for approximately £10m. The same property, with the same golden postcode. But £5m less, nearly two decades later.

For years, there was an accepted wisdom around London property: buy well, hold it for ten years and you’ll make money. That simply isn’t true anymore.

People are losing money on prime London property. That is now a fact.

There are plenty of reasons for this. Changes to the non-dom regime. International buyers looking elsewhere. Taxation. Politics. But I think there’s a more human story underneath all of it.

People move on.

Covid made a lot of us question where and how we wanted to live. Since then, I’ve watched friends, clients and colleagues make significant changes to their lives. New countries. New careers. Different priorities. I’ve done it myself, including building a shoe brand from scratch around something I genuinely care about.

Property isn’t immune from that.

There will always be discretionary sellers who can afford to wait indefinitely for the number they have in their head. But there are also people who simply want to get on with the next chapter of their lives.

And those people are doing deals.

That is painful if you’re a seller still measuring today against what your property was once worth.

But if you’re a buyer?

That changes the conversation completely.

Prime central London hasn’t suddenly stopped being prime central London. The buildings, neighbourhoods, internationally revered education, culture and scarcity that made these places desirable haven’t disappeared.

What has changed is the price of entry.

And when long-held assumptions about a market finally break, that’s often when the most interesting opportunities begin.

P.S. And yes, I AM wearing a pair of Wildpools. If I’m going to write a post about embracing change, I’m allowed one shameless plug for my own life pivot.