City workers snap up central London homes as Brexit uncertainty fades
The number of City workers snapping up property in prime central London areas surged last year as the uncertainty surrounding Brexit began to clear, according to the latest research.
The percentage of buyers from the financial services sector buying properties worth more than £2m jumped to 34.6 per cent of total sales in 2019, the highest figure since 2013.
The most popular areas for London’s financial sector employees were Notting Hill, Knightsbridge and Kensington, according to research by Knight Frank.
Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, said: “London plays a key global role in the financial services sector, whether it’s clearing derivatives trades, trading Chinese currency or as the location for major stock market flotations.
“As initial uncertainty surrounding the impact of Brexit fades, it is unsurprising to see this translate into higher activity levels among finance workers in London’s prime housing market.”
Meanwhile, the Knight Frank prime London sales index showed that the general election boosted the monthly number of exchanges in the market to the highest level since March 2016. However, this was followed by a dip in January.
The “Boris bounce” following the Conservative election win created a jump in prospective buyers in January, but the number of new sales listings fell buy a quarter, putting upwards pressure on prices.