Luxury homes in London are finding it increasingly difficult to find buyers, and owners are being forced to reduce prices by millions of pounds. An apartment in Queen's Gate Gardens, South Kensington, has fallen in price by nearly 1 million pounds and is now being offered for 4.4 million pounds. In the same area, a house originally listed for 20 million pounds has lowered its price to 14 million pounds. In Notting Hill, a property that went on the market for 16 million pounds two years ago is now being offered for under 14 million pounds.
The decline is also affecting some of the most expensive neighborhoods of the British capital. According to data cited by the Guardian, the average price of houses in inner London fell by 8.3% in the year to June, while the average price across the UK rose by around 2%. In Westminster, where Mayfair, Belgravia and Marylebone are located, the decline reached 25.4%. In the City, prices fell by 20.4%, and in Kensington and Chelsea - by 14.7%.
There are fewer buyers, and discounts are increasing
Harry Dawes, a property buying consultant in Belgravia, gave the example of an apartment on Pont Street, a few minutes' walk from “Harrods“. The house was sold for £4.4m in 2014, then for £3.5m, and is now up for sale for £2.5m.
According to Payne, the market was overvalued after a rapid rise in prices in the mid-2010s. It has since been hit by Brexit, the pandemic, higher property taxes and rising mortgage costs. Savills estimates that owners who bought at the top of the market could lose up to 25% if they sell now.
Premium properties spent an average of 186 days on the market in the first half of 2026, compared to 178 days a year earlier. The average discount to the asking price increased from 8.3% to 10.4%. Jeremy Gee of Beauchamp Estates attributes some of the outflow of wealthy buyers to the removal of the tax regime for people without permanent tax status in the UK. Plans for a tax on homes worth more than £2 million have also created further uncertainty.
The best properties remain the exception
However, the market is not moving equally across all segments. Stuart Bailey of Knight Frank says buyers are still paying above the asking price for properties with exceptional locations, views, impeccable condition and recent renovations. Interest is strongest in the so-called top-end properties, while second-hand properties that require renovation are harder to sell.
This divide is also visible in the most expensive deals. Sales of homes for £10m and above rose by 50% in the three months to June compared to the same period in 2025. Deals between £15m and £20m increased by almost 40% in the second quarter.
At the highest price point, billionaire Nick Candy sold his Chelsea home for over £270m, while the “Holm“ in Regent's Park is expected to sell for around £190m, having changed hands in 2024 for £139m. Meanwhile, seven in ten Beauchamp Estates clients prefer to rent rather than buy to avoid maintenance costs, stamp duty, management fees and potential new taxes.
For the wider market, the forecast remains cautious. Strutt & Parker now expects prices in central London to rise by 4.4% by 2030, compared with a previous estimate of 9-12%. Anthony Payne of LonRes warns that the market may not have bottomed out yet.
Source: The Guardian
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be found at imot.bg