London property market figures down but not out

The London property market continues to keep investors satisfied as 2013 progresses. With the first quarter behind us, we can see that a total value of £2.75 billion in transactions took place in Central London during that time, with 71% of the buyers originating from overseas investment.

In the City and Docklands district, there was an even higher proportion of overseas investment, with 88% of London’s total £1.77 billion-worth of property transactions involving overseas buyers – equal to £1.56 billion. And when you consider that only 22 transactions took place in the first three months of 2013 in this district, it is easy to see that the investments are coming from big players. In fact, just four transactions, including Ropemaker Place, which has been sold by British Land to Axa Real Estate, amounted to £1.35 billion of this investment.

Eugene O’Sullivan of Morgan Pryce, notes, “The figures are interesting as they demonstrate how the total market can be bolstered by a few high-value transactions. There is obviously a lot of other layers of the market which might indicate different trends, but on the whole, the news is positive, even taking into consideration the dip compared to the last quarter.”

In fact, despite these good statistics, in fact, the value of transactions in London in general and in areas such as the West End, dropped in comparison with the final quarter of 2012. The total value of transactions fell by 31% from £3.98 billion while the West End transactions dropped from £1.21 billion to £965 million. One reason for the reduction has been given as simply the lack of supply.

Morgan Pryce is a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.