This Is Money - Black Brick

How to profit from the London property freeze

By Liz Rowlinson.

House price growth has come to a halt and sellers are struggling to shift their properties.

London’s prime property market is under mounting pressure, with house price growth at just 0.7 per cent annually — the weakest of any UK region. Nowhere is this felt more acutely than at the top end of the market.

Camilla Dell, Managing Partner of Black Brick, highlighted the severity of conditions for buyers and sellers in prime central London: “There’s unprecedented supply in areas such as Mayfair, Belgravia, Kensington and Chelsea, and Knightsbridge. This can only mean that prices will come down further.”

The article points to a confluence of factors weighing on the market: uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget — including speculation around a new annual property tax and potential changes to capital gains tax relief — alongside the abolition of the non-dom regime, stretched affordability, and dwindling international buyer activity.

For properties above £5 million in prime central London, the data is stark. Average flat prices have fallen to their lowest level since 2013, transactions are down year-on-year, and the average time from listing to exchange has reached a record high. Over half of properties in the £3–8 million bracket have seen asking price reductions.

For buyers, these conditions represent a compelling window of opportunity. Black Brick’s expert buying agents are actively navigating this market on behalf of clients — identifying motivated sellers, negotiating below asking price, and securing best-in-class properties at valuations not seen for a decade.

Read the article here, which includes insights from leaders across the property industry, as well as sharing actionable advice on how to overcome the challenging market.

60% of Britons admit to looking up house prices of friends, colleagues and lovers

New figures have revealed that 6 in 10 Britons admit to looking up the prices of their friends, colleagues and lovers’ houses – and a quarter have even broke up with their partners over it.

Reflecting on these revelations in This Is Money, Black Brick’s Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared how it was her experience, as a buying agent, that “people always want to know what others have paid for a property”.

She continued by explaining how buying agencies like Black Brick will go to great lengths to help clients find out what other people paid for a property they’re interested in.

“Before we submit an offer on a property, we always do a comprehensive “buying report” for our clients. Within the report we highlight relevant comparable sales. It’s all about the price per square foot – the price paid divided by the internal square footage. This gives our clients a pretty good idea if the price they are paying is reasonable or not, and also aids us with our negotiations.”