Prime central London sits 10.3 per cent below its 2014 peak as Dubai leads US$10m sales

Prime central London values stood 10.3 per cent below their 2014 peak in February 2026, broadly back at 2013 levels, according to Coutts data reported by Spear’s on 20 February, with Knightsbridge and Belgravia 29.5 per cent down and Chelsea 20.5 per cent. Buyers took an average 10.3 per cent off asking prices in the last quarter of 2025.

The top of the market moved abroad. Knight Frank counted 35 London sales above US$10m in the last quarter of 2025, seventh of the 12 cities it tracks, behind Sydney, Miami and Singapore, against 143 in Dubai, which closed a record year of 500 such sales. Knight Frank linked London’s fall to the non-dom reforms. Across its 12 cities there were 555 sales above US$10m in the quarter, worth US$10.3bn.

Owners were not selling in large numbers either, Knight Frank said in February, and almost half of prime central London listings in the last quarter of 2025 needed a public price cut before a sale was agreed, with most completing below their original guide. Savills found sales above £5m fell to a five-year low in 2025.

London then recovered a little. Knight Frank reported on 3 July that the city made 45 sales above US$10m in the first quarter of 2026, up 18 per cent, worth US$836m, enough for fourth place. Dubai led with 193 sales worth an estimated US$3.43bn, though Knight Frank warned that the regional conflict that began on 28 February was not yet in the figures.

Tax changed for estates. From 6 April 2026, agricultural and business property relief (inheritance tax reliefs for farms and family companies) gives 100 per cent relief only on the first £2.5m of qualifying property in an estate, and 50 per cent relief on the value above it.

A new charge on homes was proposed. The government consulted from 19 May to 14 July 2026 on the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, which would apply to English homes worth £2m or more from April 2028 in four bands from £2,500 to £7,500 a year, forecast to raise about £430m a year. The consultation paper says a £10m Mayfair home in Band H pays around £2,100 in council tax, against £2,400 to £2,600 for a Band D home worth about £400,000 in Darlington or Blackpool. Homes would be revalued every five years, the next revaluation being in 2033.

Coutts expected previously delayed demand to return during 2026, which it said could interact with reduced stock.