Staggering growth in prime central London

Posted: 02 Jun 2006 09:26:13 GMT

The property market in prime central London continues to astonish analysts, with annualised price growth in April standing at 16.6 per cent.

This is the highest since October 2000 and it has confirmed predictions that the capital will see something of a summer boom, reports Knight Frank.

Incredibly, the Chelsea area has seen house prices increase by 19.5 per cent in the first five months of 2006 alone, while London has also seen a 13 per cent increase in the number of properties in the £1 million to £2 million bracket during the period.

Knight Frank's head of residential research, Liam Bailey, comments: "To illustrate the strength of the market in [central London] - a typical flat in the SW3 postcode (value approximately £571,123) has risen in value by £4,659 every week since January."

Significantly, Mr Bailey suggests that the figures in truth point to "the beginning of the end of the London boom" because the most expensive properties in the capital are no longer seeing the strongest growth.

He suggests that price growth will slow in the remainder of 2006, with affordability constraints and seasonal factors instigating the cooling period.


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