London house-hunters pay premium to join space race

House prices for London’s largest residential homes stormed ahead over the past year with wealthy buyers willing to pay a pandemic premium for more interior space along with bigger gardens.

Property prices in west and south-west London for houses with six or more bedrooms jumped by 8.2% over the 12 months to the end of June, according to the high-end estate agents, Savills.

Across London, Savills said the desire for space meant demand for houses had outstripped that for flats over the past year. House price growth across the capital came in at 4.3% year-on-year, while flats experienced a slight reverse over the same period, recording a fall in value of 0.6%.

Within central London, Savills said markets remaining the most robust over the past 12 months have been Notting Hill, Bayswater and Holland Park. In these areas, Savills said property prices had “topped out” by about 4%.

Lucian Cook, Savills head of residential research, said: “Whichever way you look at it, the past year has been about buyers with the means to do so looking for more space both inside and out, and their willingness to pay a high price for that space.”

As the vaccine roll-out continues and more housing stock comes to market, Cook added that he expects some of the urgency to come out of the property decision-making process: “As stock constraints gradually ease, so upwards pressure on values will ease, and the realignment of buyer and seller expectations will be vital in order to maintain market momentum.”