Month: June 2025

Buyers Benefit from More Settled Property Market

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If you are looking for houses for sale in London then you’ll be glad to hear the market has become less competitive in recent weeks. That’s because the race to make the most of the Stamp Duty reductions is over – on April 1 this year to be exact. That’s when stamp duty taxes reverted to standard charges again.

Apartments for sale London: Stamp Duty Relief

In September 2022 the government at the time ruled that no Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) was due on properties up to £250,000 in England and Northern Ireland.

First-time buyers were also given relief when the SDLT threshold was increased from £300,000 to £425,000. When it came to houses for sale in London, the maximum value of a first-time buyers’ property that qualified for SDLT relief was also increased under the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Reduction) Bill -from £500,000 to £650,000. In total, the changes gave first-time buyers looking at houses for sale in London savings of up to £11,250. No SDLT relief was given to properties worth more than £250,000.

Apartments for sale London: Current SDLT Rates

From 1 April this year however, the zero percent threshold fell back to £125,000. At the same time, the first-time buyers’ threshold reverted to the original £300,000. Current rates for SDLT in England and Norther Ireland are as follows:

£0-£125,000 (£300,000 for first-time buyers) pays no SDLT

£125,001-£250,000 buyer pays 2%

£250,001-£925,000 buyer pays 5%

£925,001-£1.5m buyer pays 10%

£1.5m+ buyer pays 12% SDLT

Apartments for sale London: Sales 17 Percent Higher

With the SDLT relief for houses for sale in London ending on March 31, it meant, of course, that the number of properties sold in the capital in March was artificially high. Data from Knight Frank shows it was 17 per cent higher than in March 2024.

Having said that, the Stamp Duty race didn’t affect the London prime residential market as much, due to the fact that SDLT savings in the higher property bracket were proportionally lower. In fact, the average cost of property in Prime Central London (PCL) fell by 0.7 per cent in the first three months of this year. It was the biggest fall since January 2024.

Apartments for sale London: Prices Increase 1.5 Per cent

It was a different story for property in the Prime Outer London. There, prices jumped by 1.5 per cent in March. It was an increase for the second month in a row.

Analysts Say Property Market to Become More ‘STABLE’

Property analysts though aren’t putting too much store on the recent property prices for houses for sale in London. Nor are they overly worried about the way the market performed in the first three months of the year.

A spokesman for Knight Frank described the period from January to March as being “marked by uncertainty and volatility.” He went on to say that he believed the situation would even itself out by summer and for the rest of this year.

Other economic concerns are on the horizon and which could have an effect on the property market. These are mainly the tariffs introduced by the current US government. In the UK it’s 10 per cent on exports, which could have an effect on inflation, making a cut in mortgage interest rates less likely.

Apartments for sale London: Get in Touch

Need help when it comes to houses for sale in London?

Our experienced team has been selling prime residential properties in London for over 10 years. To secure our help contact us on 0207 1234 152.

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buy apartment in London

Is Your Potential Property Super Prime – or Just Prime?

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When it comes to buying apartments in London, you will be delighted at the range of properties available. The capital offers charming chocolate box cottages, super-modern flats and handsome townhouses, to name just a few property types.

Of course, you’ll also find prime and super-prime properties in abundance here too. Both categories have properties which are considered ‘top of the league’ and luxurious. But there are distinctions between the two. If you’re confused about what that is and are looking to buy an apartment in London, then do read on, as we explain it in this blog post.

Find a property London: Prime bracket

Price. You can expect to pay anything from £2 million up to £10 million for a prime property in London. That’s quite a large price range, resulting in a large selection of different property types.
Potential buyer: Professionals will buy in this price range. So too will families familiar with a certain standard of living.
Area: Your prime property may not necessarily be in the prestigious locations of Chelsea, Kensington, Wimbledon etc. Instead, it may be in up-and-coming and ‘trendy’ areas such as Shoreditch or Islington. There are many properties for sale in this price range in Notting Hill as well.
Property characteristics: A high quality finish is par for the course in this property bracket. It is luxury living, after all so expect little glamour and bespoke touches.

Find a property London: Super-prime bracket

Price. As you might expect, super-prime properties start at around £10 million. Another way they’re often priced is in terms of per square foot. And, in this case, expect to pay around £4,000 per square foot.

Potential buyer: Investors from overseas, wealthy individuals and, of course, celebrities are the type of buyers which the super-prime property category typically attracts.
Area: Buying an apartment in London in the super-prime range means looking in Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Wimbledon, Mayfair and Chelsea. The properties tend to be in well-established areas, with the properties hundreds of years old, rather than contemporary (although many will have modern elements added).
Property characteristics: The type of materials used in the build and interior, together with bespoke designs, such as a wine cellar, indoor pool and gym can often be found in a super-prime property.

Find a property London: Further Super-prime Elements

To look further into the subject of super-prime property, we have to also consider other elements. These include exclusivity, cultural significance, architectural design, facilities, security, and investment potential.

In terms of exclusivity, super-prime properties tend to come on the market rarely and many are bought in private negotiations ie you won’t always find them advertised on high-end estate agency sites, making finding a property in London that is super-prime more difficult than many buyers may imagine.

You can buy an apartment in London in the super-prime bracket and feel confident that the architectural construction and interior design will be filled with bespoke elements. At the same time, the woodwork, installation etc will have been completed by tradesmen at the top of their game.

Find a property London: Concierge Services and a Private Chef

Many super-prime properties come with a concierge service. There may even be a butler, housekeeper, driver and chef. You can also expect to find up-to-the-minute security features such as discreet CCTV, gated entrances and 24-hour surveillance.

Find a property London: Contact Us

If you’re in the market for buying an apartment in London in the super-prime range then do get in touch with our expert team here at Phillips Harrod. Tel 0207 1234 152 today.

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apartments for rent in London

Landlords in Kensington and Chelsea See Big Annual Rental Rise

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A big demand for apartments for rent in London, and Kensington and Chelsea in particular, has seen an annual rental increase of nearly 10 per cent on average for the area.

It brings the annual private rent in Kensington and Chelsea to £3,663. That was in April this year and was a 9.3 per cent rise on the April 2024 figure of £3,351. Rental income in London as a whole rose by slightly less – at 8.4 per cent.

Estate agency London: Landlords see profits rise

Drilling down further in to the figures for Kensington and Chelsea we can see that landlords of flats or maisonettes received an additional 9.8 per cent rental income over the past 12 months, while owners of semi-detached and terraced rentals benefited financially from a further 8.8 per cent.

The biggest jump in the cost of apartments for rent in London was for one bed properties. The rent for these increased by 10.2 per cent and for larger family homes with at least four bedrooms, the rent increased by 7.7 per cent. It brought the cost to rent a one-bedroom property in the area to around £2,595 a month. Two-bedroom properties came in at around £3,378. The average three-bedroom rental cost £4,018 a month, and that family home we mentioned earlier – which had increased by 7.7 per cent, now costs an average £5,660 a month to rent.

Of the type of properties in Kensington and Chelsea which are private rentals, semi-detached properties attract the most rent, with an average income of £4,776. Terraced properties were fetching landlords a monthly income of £4,504. Next most lucrative was apartments for rent in London at £3,020 per month, while detached properties in the area were attracting monthly rental income of £2,886.
But it’s not just in the prime and super-prime property market that landlords have benefitted from rental income rises. In the London as a whole, private rents increased to £2,246 from £2,071 on average.

Estate agency London: highest prices in London

The average house price in the Kensington and Chelsea area was £1,188,000 in March this year. That was the highest average price across the whole of London, according to the government’s Office of National Statistics who published the figures. It’s also far higher than the average house price for the whole of the UK which, in March this year was £271,000 (up from £255,000 in March 2024.

The latest average price of £1188,000 for Kensington and Chelsea is a 15.1 per cent drop compared to the same period in 2024. Then a house was typically selling for £1400,000 on average.

Estate agency London: price reductions for flats and detached homes

Both detached properties and apartments for rent in London fell by more than 10 per cent. The former saw a drop of 13 per cent and the latter 15.6 per cent. It meant that detached properties were selling for £4,146,000 on average, while flats are maisonettes were an average of £949,000.

Neither semi-detached properties (worth an average of £2,870,000) nor terraced homes (at £2,225,000) saw a fall in price.

When it comes to first-time buyers in the area, the average property price came in at £1,019,000 in March this year. That was a drop of 15.1 per cent compared to March 2024’s average figure of £1,200,000.

Estate agency London: contact us

Are you looking to invest in apartments for rent in London’s prime market? If so, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with our estate agency London experts. Tel Phillips Harrod: 0207 1234 152.

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House for Rent in London

Update on Prime Property Market Performance

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Considering investing in a house for rent in London? If so, then there’s no better time to take a quick look over the performance of the property market since the start of 2025.

Different areas in the city vary in popularity and cost, of course. You’ll find though that here at Phillips Harrod it’s the prime and super-prime property market that piques our interest. The latter consists of properties which are let out from £5000 a week. That’s an incredibly niche market and one which appeals mainly to overseas investors.

Prime apartments for rent London

Looking at the market over a 12-month period to February this year, there are nine per cent more super-prime houses for rent in London than in February 2024. That’s according to a report by researchers at Knight Frank. Looking at prime London property though, the picture isn’t quite as rosy, with 10 per cent less prime property to rent in the first quarter of the year. Of course, it all depends on how you look at it. Fewer prime properties to rent, means more competition and potentially a higher rental yield.

Apartments for rent London: demand grows as supply falls

Certainly, there are slightly more tenants than properties to let over the same period (ie January to April, this year). It’s not a huge jump but at five tenants per property this year compared to 4.6 in 2024, the figure does show that demand is growing, while supply is diminishing. And for landlords that can only be a good thing.

For instance, the average prime rental property in Outer London increased by 0.6 per cent within the first three months of the year. That worked out at an annual increase of 0.8 per cent and will almost certainly mean a jump in the cost of any house for rent in London.

One property analyst blamed the falling supply of desirable houses for rent in London on a growing number of landlords leaving the sector.

“Demand is strong, so it’s obviously very positive for landlords who choose to remain in the prime London market,” he said. For tenants though, it’s a case of trying to seal in a deal before the rents go up higher over the coming months or year. For there is no doubt that will be the case.”

Apartments for rent London: Zoopla report

A report by property portal Zoopla and published in March this year, shows the company has no hesitation in predicting that rents will increase this year. Again, it’s due to a lack of supply, not just in London, but throughout the UK.

In fact, the average rental property in the prime London market is around 20 per cent higher than in January 2021 when the market picked up again after lockdown.

In terms of location, prime property in both North and East of the capital proved strongest, with the cost of a house to rent in London having increased by 2 per cent. This includes areas such as Islington and Wapping.

In Central London, ie Kensington to the City of London, rents haven’t risen quite as much. However, such is the nature of prime property investment in the Capital that many of the renters are expected to be from overseas and looking for a base here. That’s especially since the ending of the non-dom status and addition of the annual tax of enveloped dwellings (ATED) will make it more expensive to purchase apartments for rent in London than previously. Renting is therefore the next logical step.

Apartments for rent London: get in touch

If you would like help to find a house to rent in London then contact our expert team at Phillips Harrod today. Tel: 0207 1234 152.

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