East meets west
It is an auspicious time.
In anticipation of spring and brighter days ahead, we note that this year Shrove Tuesday, the Lunar New Year, and the start of Ramadan occur on the same day. Three calendars coinciding, multiple cultures observing their traditions and customs around the world in the same season.
In a cosmopolitan city like London, you can find the best of all these worlds in a cultural world capital.
Opportunities in property
For the moment things look more predictable than they have since last year. Pent up demand and more clarity around tax policy could lead to increased activity.
In the final months of 2025, the anticipation of potential policy changes, announced in late November, seemed to slow the high-end market. The numbers for the last quarter showed the uncertainty for both buyers and sellers.
According to LonRes, lower demand and higher supply put downward pressure on values.
In the super prime (£5million-plus) London market, at the end of 2025 there were 11.4% more properties for sale than a year earlier.
Nevertheless, sales activity at £3 million plus in Prime Central London (PCL) fell in the fourth quarter, with 137 transactions recorded, a slight 3% decline from the previous quarter.
Selling takes more than six months and a discount on asking price is expected. In 2025 the average time on the market was 170 days, only one day longer than the previous year’s average. The average discount to asking price across prime London was 9.0% in 2025, up from the 8.4% recorded in 2024. Discounts haven’t been this high since the end of 2019.
The number of price reductions in the first three quarters was 36.9% but fell to only 9.1% of listings in the final quarter. The number of properties withdrawn from the market in the final quarter was nearly 30%, compared to only 6.2 over the preceding 9 months.
While these figures provide a good snapshot, such results can’t be extrapolated from one area of London to another. Nor do one year’s data constitute a trend. Longer-term horizons may tell a different story.
For example, looking at different prime central London areas, we note that Mayfair and St. James had the highest average sales value in 2025 at £2,445 per square foot. Mayfair and St. James also had the largest annual increase in value of 4.8%.
In contrast, values in Knightsbridge and Belgravia declined by 9.8% last year, and over the last 10 years have seen an average sale price per square foot decline by 20%. In South Kensington values were only off by 0.3% last year, but are down 17% since 2015.
Meanwhile, Hampstead, while down 3.2% year-on-year on a square-foot basis, has experienced the best average sales value increase at 6% over the last decade.
The Americans are coming
It turns out the UK remains attractive for US citizens looking to relocate. In the year to March 2025, 6,618 Americans applied for British citizenship, the highest annual figure since records began in 2004, according to statistics released by Britain’s Home Office. That’s a rise of 40% compared with 2024.
Though not affected by the abolition of the non-dom regime, Americans have a range of options for immigrating and establishing residency. The so-called FIG model creates a four-year window to try-it-and-see—live in the UK and figure out how to stay.
Meanwhile, the UK government is holding a public consultation on its proposed ‘earned settlement’ model for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), meant to conclude this month. Solicitors and business leaders are in touch with MPs and their advisors to represent commercial interests to international immigrants and investment.
You can’t argue with a legend
Another good reason for Americans and others to come: London is a rich and amazing landscape.
In December, the BBC broadcast David Attenborough’s ‘Wild London,’ a profile of the local fauna in his hometown. Sir David, a living legend, says he wouldn’t live anywhere else.
Charging ahead
And speaking of fauna, in the Year of the Horse, Sir David would surely appreciate the tributes to one domesticated animal that can be found across London: the working horse.
The zodiac horse is a positive portent: a sign of energy and moving forward. This year the fire horse burns away the shedded skin of last year’s wood snake to clear a path.
This could be the year for international private clients to take advantage of the opportunities in the UK property market.
We at Longview are looking forward to charging ahead into 2026!
© COPYRIGHT 2026 Longview Advisors Limited
