Property consultancy Knight Frank said on Friday that the super-prime (10 million pounds plus) market in London is recovering after 12 months during which the global pandemic had curbed the activity.
The rise in demand paired with a minimal supply of super-prime properties has resulted in record annual price appreciation for the first time since mid-2016.
According to the Super Prime Market Insight for spring 2021, Euro and Swiss Franc currency holders witnessed the highest discount of 25 to 27 per cent each in December 2020. In contrast, Indian rupee holders had the lowest with 15 to 17 per cent discount.
As UK's economy is showing signs of recovery from the pandemic, Indian buyers have lost out on effective discounts of 2.73 per cent compared with currency devaluation for the period of December 2020. (1 GBP = 99.96 INR) and May 2021 (1 GBP = 102.69 INR).
The Super Prime Market Insight tracks sales volume and value for London's super-prime market. London's SW1, which has properties like Hinduja Group's The OWO Residency, recorded the maximum sales in terms of value and volume from April 2020 to April 2021, recording transactions for 18 super-prime properties worth 392 million pounds.
Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's Global Head of Research, said the London super-prime market is seeing a surge of interest.
"Purchasers with a combined budget of 36.8 billion pounds are actively searching for 10 million pounds plus properties right now, representing a rise of 54 per cent compared to the five-year average," he said.
A combination of lockdown easing, a rapidly growing economy, sharply improved business sentiment, and a sense that city living is being reignited after a long close-down is helping to drive buyers.
"While the figure represents a growth in new demand from new UK and international buyers, there is also a growth in demand from existing luxury homeowners looking to buy a new, bigger, better, super-prime home to improve and expand their London base, as a response to Covid's impact on their lifestyle," said Bailey.
Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director at Knight Frank India, said London's super-prime market is currently witnessing a boom, owing primarily to the increase in demand. Super Prime and prime properties in London have recorded appreciation in recent times.
"During the pandemic, many Indian HNIs have shown greater interest purchasing prime properties in gateway markets like London as these markets have historically either beaten market trends during economic slowdowns or have indeed recovered at a faster pace than others due to strong fundamentals and robust global connect," he said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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