Property within the UK has long been an attractive asset class for investors seeking consistent low risk returns, offering a diversification from other investments and a useful hedge against inflation. Out of all the property markets, it is Prime property in central London that has shown the highest returns over both the short and long term.
The prime market in central London has also over time out-performed the FTSE 100 and its UK commercial counterpart, whilst also performing better than other global property markets, both prime and non-prime.
The prime central London market is confined to two boroughs: the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and parts of Westminster. There are 200,000 households in this area, with severely restricted supply created by London’s planning policies, and growing international demand, resulting in a total annual return of 10% and over for the last 20 years.
Forecasts for this market are good, with Savills predicting 25% growth to 2017, whilst others believing that prices could double by 2020. However, there are wide differences in values across this area, and inefficiencies in this market can still be exploited to out-perform the market as a whole. This is what we look for in order to benefit our clients.