Reduced City bonus expectations have led to a noticeable shift in the profile of buyers in the prime London market.
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‘The biggest impact is in the £2 to £4 million price bracket where the proportion of buyers employed in the financial and business sector has reduced by just over 25% since August this year,’ explains Lucian Cook, Savills’ research director (www.savills.com), who carried out the research.
‘There has not been any significant impact under £1 million, because City buyers are less active in this market, or above £4 million where overseas money dominates. However, the impact also is being felt in the £1 to £2 million bracket. In this price band, the proportion of City buyers is down by 20%,’ adds Mr Cook.
The beneficiaries of reduced City demand have been buyers previously unable to compete with big bonus buyers, who nonetheless have accumulated significant wealth from areas like property, IT and media industries, the research also reveals.
