After a sluggish start to 2025, there were some positive signs for London’s prime sales market in March. Activity was up on both last March and the longer-term average for the time of year.
This is according to data from property analyst LonRes which also shows that new sales instructions in March were 14.6% higher than last year and 29.8% higher than the 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic) March average.
There were 29.9% more transactions in March than a year earlier and 32.4% more than the 2017-2019 (prepandemic) March average.
The stock of available homes for sale also continued to grow. At the end of March stock levels were 9.1% higher than a year earlier and 36.0% up on March 2020.
However average achieved sold prices fell by 2.7% on an annual basis in March and compared to 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic) levels, values were 3.6% lower.
The fall in average achieved prices was reflected in the high level of price reductions. The average discount from initial asking price across prime London was 8.2% in March.
Transactions in the £5m-plus market fell in March, with 17.1% fewer sales than in 2024. New instructions in this market increased by 61.8% over the same period, with stock on the market also continuing to rise.
The number of £5m-plus homes available for sale across prime London rose by 22.2% over the year to end of March.
In the lettings market, activity remained low in March and rental growth stabilised after recent increases. Annual rental growth of 4.9% was recorded in March across prime London (down from a revised 6.2% in February) with average rents 33.3% above their 2017-2019 (pre-pandemic) average.
The LonRes figures for March indicated an annual decrease of 34.2% in lets agreed and a 23.5% fall in new instructions. Significantly, the stock of available rental properties decreased on an annual basis, with 16% fewer homes on the market across prime London at the end of the month than a year earlier.
Commenting on the latest figures LoRes head of research Nick Gregori said:
“Across prime London sales activity looked much more positive in March, with transactions growing strongly compared to the same month last year. After February’s surprise house price rise, average achieved values fell again on an annual basis, suggesting perhaps that increasingly realistic pricing may have been the key to unlocking more demand.”
He pointed out that after many months where the flow of under offers into exchanges had not been smooth, a pick up in deals going through was a welcome result for buyers, sellers and agents.
On the rental market Gregori said: “Unlike the volatility seen in the sales market, prime London lettings has been consistent so far in 2025. Low levels of new instructions are limiting activity, with the usual caveat that many deals are taking place without the properties being marketed. Annual rental growth was 4.9% in March, with our inner prime catchment recording the largest rise this year.”