Prime property in outer London experienced growth of 0.8% in Q1, the strongest quarterly performance for two years, as greater stability in the mortgage markets encouraged more domestic buyers back to the market.

Family house markets in the likes of Battersea, Clapham, Ealing, Fulham and Victoria Park were among the strongest performing.

Flats in outer prime London have also begun to recover, with values rising by 0.7% in the past three months, after five successive quarterly price falls.

In prime central London, while values remained broadly flat (0.1%) in Q1 2024, this represents the first positive quarterly price movement since mid-2022.

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Values are now down by just -0.6% over the past year and by a total of only -1.2% since the mini-budget in September 2022.

Less reliance on mortgage debt means this part of the market has generally remained more resilient in the wake of higher interest rates.

More political uncertainty surrounding the upcoming general election and plans to abolish non-dom status, as announced in last month’s budget, means buyers are likely to remain cautious.

Activity across London has also picked up so far this year with agreed sales across all price bands net of fall throughs 24% higher in the first quarter than the same period last year, according to TwentyCi data.

Activity by this measure was also 15% above the pre-pandemic level, highlighting that demand is now exceeding historical norms.