Prime London property market stays firm
The latest Prime London Demand Index by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, reveals that, despite broad economic uncertainty, buyer demand across London’s most prestigious neighbourhoods avoided a decline during the first quarter of 2026, with the likes of Chelsea, Battersea, Highgate, and Belgravia seeing quarterly demand increases of above 5%.
The Prime London Demand Index by Benham and Reeves monitors demand for London’s most expensive properties based on the level of market activity seen between the £2m to £10m threshold and the super prime market of £10m+. Demand is based on the proportion of all homes listed for sale across the prime market that have already been sold subject to contract.
Prime market (£2m to £10m)
The latest index shows that during Q1 2026, demand for prime London properties sat at 13.4%, having increased by +0.2% versus Q4 2025. This also puts overall demand +2.8% higher than a year earlier in Q1 2025.
Islington saw the highest demand for prime London properties, with 37.3% of all homes listed between £2m and £10m securing a buyer, followed by Wandsworth (34.5%), Chiswick (31.4%), Wimbledon (30.5%) and Putney (28.9%).
In terms of quarterly momentum, Battersea topped the table, with prime homebuyer demand increasing by +7.8%. Other areas to see positive momentum included Belgravia (+6.3%), Victoria (+5%), Pimlico (+4.3%), Fitzrovia (+2.2%), Canary Wharf (+2.1%), Holland Park (+1.6%), and Chelsea (+1.3%).
At the other end of the spectrum, the sharpest quarterly declines were seen in Barnes (-20.9%), Putney (-13.2%), Chiswick (-11.9%), Regent’s Park (-11.5%), and Highgate (-10.7%).
Super prime market (£10m+)
Across London’s super prime market, overall demand during Q1 2026 sat at 3.3%, which represents a very minor decline on a quarterly basis (-0.01%), but a slight annual increase of +0.2%.
Highgate was once again the most in-demand super prime market, where 23.1% of homes priced at £10m or above had secured a buyer, followed by Chelsea (12.5%), Hampstead Garden Suburb (6.5%), Knightsbridge (6.1%) and St. John’s Wood (3.7%).
Quarterly uplifts in buyer activity were strongest in Chelsea (+8.9%), Highgate (+6.4%), Knightsbridge (+2.7%), and Mayfair (+1.7%).
Marc von Grundherr, Director of Benham and Reeves, commented:
“Despite such great global economic uncertainty since the start of the new year, as well as the higher tax burden of the so-called Mansion Tax, London’s most sought-after property markets have shown good resilience across the first quarter of 2026. In many areas, demand has shown strong growth, and it’s clear that the capital’s prime markets are still attractive, with buyers prepared to pull the trigger when the right properties come up.
It appears that family homes are still driving demand for the most valuable properties, with more residential locations like Chiswick, Wimbledon, and Highgate continuing to attract buyers. But we’ve also seen an uptick in the more central, city-focused areas of Victoria, Mayfair, and Canary Wharf, which shows continued belief in London’s most central markets, and hints that foreign investment is still funnelling.
On the ground, we’re seeing sustained demand for homes within traditionally strong rental markets which is helping to sustain the market prices being achieved and, across the board, we’ve seen a 15% increase in buyer enquiries in Q1 alone and there simply isn’t enough stock to satisfy this demand.
London’s prime markets are not immune to global and domestic economic tides, but the city’s great appeal is impossible to dim, so we are confident that demand for its most valuable homes will continue to show resilience over the next quarter and, should global affairs settle, head into some really strong performances in the summer months.”
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