London sellers accepting hefty price reductions in buyers’ market

Increased mortgage rates and more homes on the market have enabled buyers to benefit from some pretty good discounts.

Commenting on the property trend in The Standard this week, Black Brick Founder & Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared why she believes these discounts are occurring: because sellers are being too optimistic from the get-go.

“We are only seeing big discounts on property that was over-priced to begin with or on property that is seriously compromised. Good properties, that are what we love to call ‘best in class’, located on desirable streets and in turn-key condition, are selling well and often at or even above the asking price.”, she said.

Read the full article here.

London’s Prime Property Market: 2023 Review

2023 has been yet another interesting, and somewhat turbulent, year for the prime central London residential market.

From Knight Frank reporting that sales in prime central London have reduced by 15%, to LonRes putting the annual decrease across the wider prime London area at nearly 30%.

Our Managing Partner, Camilla Dell, shared a full a review into 2023, as well as forecasting for 2024, in Blick Rothenberg this week.

Read it here.

Executive boardrooms are being turned into $22 million apartments

“Squeezed for space in prime central London, developers are turning what were formerly executive corporate bedrooms, department stores and civil servants’ offices into high-end apartments and luxury hotels”, Sarah Rappaport and Damian Shepherd write in Bloomberg this week.

As an experienced London buying agent specialising in high-end, luxury property for over 20 years, Black Brick’s Founder shared her perspective into she has experienced this latest prime property trend, and how she overcomes barriers for her clients.

“The difficulty is the location,” she said. “Most of my clients buying at the upper price range want to be by Bond Street and their private members clubs in Mayfair.”

Read the full article here.

Why is it so hard to sell a house in 2023?

For many sellers at the moment, the price of their property is just too high for it to ever peak the interest of the right buyers.

Melissa York has written in The Times this week that, “Buyers are sitting on their hands waiting. Waiting to catch that mythical sweet spot between interest rates falling and property prices rising. And as they wait, sellers are left competing for a dwindling pool of potential buyers.”

Reflecting on this impact on the property market both in London and the wider UK, Black Brick’s Founder, Camilla Dell shared how half of the properties our buying agency found for clients last year were not publicly advertised – and that has grown by 55% this year as the market becomes even more price-sensitive.

“Sellers can test the market. The more expensive the property, the higher the likelihood it won’t be openly available for sale. According to industry database Lonres, there are currently four properties for sale in London above £50 million and three of them are off-market.”, she said.

Read the full article here.

Why the super rich are slashing millions off their asking prices

Buying agent and Founder of Black Brick, Camilla Dell, featured in The Standard this week to share why so many the ultra-rich are selling off their properties are cut prices

Sharing insight into a current client of ours who is in the process of buying a house in Knightsbridge, Camilla said: “Its owner is a billionaire, he bought it at the peak of the market, and he put it on sale for significantly less than he paid for it. He is selling it for even less, because he just doesn’t need it any more. It is not just super-distressed sellers who are cutting prices.”

“Dell believes the rash of price-cutting is down to the fact that vendors have finally woken up to the fact that London’s prime property market is on the fritz.”, writes Ruth Bloomfield.

Read the full article here.

Navigating the UK’s buy-to-let market

In a new piece for Barclays, Black Brick’s Founder Camilla Dell shares her advice to getting the best out of the UK’s buy-to-let property market.

Reflecting on how prices are slightly below what they were a year ago, Camilla said, “the prime central London market is performing better than the rest of the UK”.

She added: “We’ve taken a large volume of new enquiries from buyers in the Middle East and the US looking for homes and investments in the city. I believe there’ll be some excellent buying opportunities over the coming months, especially as sellers are now starting to be far more realistic with their pricing.”

Read the full article here.

How will the general election affect house prices?

With the next UK general election coming up soon, we’ve shared our insights into how the housing and property market make be impacted in The Times this week.

Reacting to the possibility of Labour’s pledge to scrap non-domiciled tax status taking place, Black Brick buying agency Founder Camilla Dell said:

“If members of this small but economically significant group decided to vote with their feet and exit the UK, it could have a disproportionate impact on the very top end of the housing market,”.

Read the full article here.

Nine of the best luxury apartment sales of 2023 so far

Apartment living is still hugely popular amongst prime central London property buyers, with 90% of Black Brick’s deals this year so far involving flats, up from 43% last year.

“Buyers are clearly bored of being out in the sticks, and are looking for the excitement of city centre living once again, particularly if they need to show their faces at the office,”, our Founder shared with PrimeResi, in their latest article highlighting the very best luxury penthouse sales of the year so far.

Read the full article here.

How security concerns are impacting London’s super-prime property market

Recent, somewhat scaremongering reports into London’s safety have made prime property buyers (and owners) all the more cautious.

In a new piece that delves into the issue, PrimeResi spoke with Black Brick buying agency Founder, Camilla Dell to hear her thoughts, alongside a host of fellow other buying agents and experts.

“There’s been a lot of talk amongst certain HNW’s about London’s increase in crime and how terrible things are and they are leaving. Donald Trump’s feuding with London Mayor Sadiq Khan also contributed to this rhetoric. As a Londoner, having lived and worked in London my whole life, my own personal experience is that I haven’t noticed an increase in crime. I continue to wear my wedding ring, eternity ring and new apple iWatch and I have never once felt threatened or at risk walking the streets of London.

As a buying agent, I walk the streets a lot. I’m not trying to take away from other people’s negative experiences, but I do think a few high profile people have jumped up and down about crime in London but they aren’t leaving London for the crime. They are leaving because they prefer to live in countries such as Dubai with lower tax rates, or for other business reasons. London’s crime index is 53.8 with a safety index of 46.2 meaning we have a relatively moderate crime level compared to other major cities around the world.

For clients where security is important, we work with a few trusted security firms, many are ex-police officers who advise our clients on how to make their homes more secure. Security isn’t just about preventing burglaries and intruders but also cyber criminals – something which is often overlooked.”

Flats now ‘firmly rehabilitated’ in prime central London

90% of our deals so far this year here at Black Brick buying agents involved apartments in H1; compared to 43% last year.

Sharing the news in PrimeResi this week, we reflected on this new trend in the property market, citing “buyers are clearly bored of being out in the sticks, and are looking for the excitement of city centre living once again, particularly if they need to show their faces at the office”.