Flat London market sees apartments account for 49% of all sales

The latest research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that Wandsworth was London’s busiest borough for home sales over the last year, accounting for 6% of the 48,278 homes sold across the capital, while flats were the most popular property type accounting for half of all sales.

Benham and Reeves analysed sold price data from the Land Registry looking at sales to have completed across the London market (Jan to Dec 2023 – latest available), which boroughs proved the most popular and what property type was most sought after.

The research shows that 48,278 transactions completed across the London market in 2023 and Wandsworth topped the table with the highest level of buyer activity. 6% of all transactions to take place across the capital last year did so in Wandsworth, with Bromley (5.3%) and Croydon (4.6%) also amongst some of the busiest.

In contrast, the City of London saw the lowest level of market activity, with just 116 transactions accounting for 0.2% of all London homes sold.

Barking and Dagenham (1.5%) and Newham (1.9%) also saw some of the lowest levels of market activity.

Flats were by far the most popular property purchase amongst buyers accounting for 49% of total London market transactions. In fact, they were the most popular purchase across 24 London boroughs, accounting for 98.3% of transactions in the City of London and over 80% of sales in Tower Hamlets, Westminster and Camden.

Terrace homes accounted for 29% of total market activity in 2023 and were the most popular property purchase in Barking and Dagenham (65.5%), Merton (46%), Waltham Forest (45%), Redbridge (44.7%) and Enfield (41.6%).

Just 16% of all sales were semi-detached purchases, although they were the most popular property type purchased across Havering (37.9%), Bexley (36.9%), Harrow (33.3%) and Hillingdon (32.4%).

Detached homes accounted for just 5% of all London transactions in 2023 and while other property types proved more popular across every borough, detached home sales were most prominent in Bromley (16.6%), Hillingdon (15.1%) and Kingston (13.2%).

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“It’s been a difficult year for the London market with the capital’s buyers understandably hit hardest by higher mortgage rates and a restriction in purchasing power. But despite this, almost 50,000 transactions still took place across the London market in 2023 which demonstrates that while prices may have cooled, homebuyers remain keen to make their move.

Flats were predictably the property of choice given the greater abundance of stock, as well generally offering a more affordable price point.

However, in no less than nine boroughs, terrace and semi-detached homes were the predominant property purchase of choice for buyers, demonstrating that while the London market may have fallen flat, it has far more to offer than flats alone.

Wandsworth tops the table when it comes to the highest level of total market activity which is hardly surprising. There have been a number of exciting developments within the borough, such as Wandsworth Mills, and we’re also seeing incredibly high demand for rental homes as tenants also look to secure a spot.

All in all, we’ve already seen strong signs of a market resurgence in 2024 and we expect that not only will market activity build over the course of the year, but house prices will also start to stabilise.”

House price data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid data set for transactions to have completed between January 2023 and December 2023.
Analysis is based on PPD category A sales (primary not secondary) and excludes any property listed by type as ‘other’.