Market Insights March 2025

Please see below our March Market Insights outlining some of the themes we’re seeing in the prime central London property market this month.

As always, the team and I are available to discuss the market in more detail and any questions you may have.

Best wishes

Jo Eccles

Founder and Managing Director, Eccord

+44 (0) 20 7244 4482

jo.eccles@eccord.com

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Buyers motivated by a wide range of factors

As we head into spring, buying activity is being driven by a wide variety of reasons and budgets. Interestingly, of our own clients, more than half are moving out of rental homes and committing to the stability of a long term purchase.

Clients are also buying for reasons such for secondary schools, starting a new chapter post-divorce, or moving to London for new business ventures – either from the countryside or internationally relocating here. Despite the many reports of people leaving the UK, others continue to come here for work or children’s schooling.

The Chelsea, Kensington, Notting Hill, St Johns Wood corridor remains in demand with our clients, as well as Barnes and Richmond for the Harrodian School and Ibstock Place, and we’re currently handling budgets ranging from £3 million to £22 million.

Whilst some of our clients appoint us at the very outset of their purchase journey, approximately 70% have been proactively searching unsuccessfully themselves for 6 – 24 months. In these cases, many have either missed out on properties by bidding too low or being gazumped, or because they have recognised they aren’t gaining access to the whole of the market.

It is too early to predict the spring market, but our team have seen a significant rise in client enquiries and new searches over the past two weeks which is a positive sign. We do of course recognise that we typically work with the most motivated, committed buyers – which is why our clients are prioritised in the market when we are representing them. 

Turnkey condition won’t guarantee a sale

Strong demand for buying ‘turnkey’ homes continues, as appetite for big refurbishment projects in London remains low, and many of the leading London interior designers are keeping themselves busy with a larger proportion of international projects instead.

For those buying genuine turnkey properties, it is very common we will also acquire most or all of the furniture, soft furnishings and often artwork as part of a turnkey purchase and I discussed this trend with the Financial Times earlier this month.

There is a note of caution for novice developers, though. While sizeable premiums are being paid for the immediacy and finish of genuinely exceptional turnkey homes, we have seen a number of examples in recent weeks of beautifully refurbished properties being launched to the market, where the developer is inexperienced. This is particularly in the prime £5m - £15m family house market.

In these cases, they have focused on high level design at the expense of function and a true understanding of what buyers at that level demand from a home. Many of these are common oversights, for example family buyers place a lot of importance on space for coats or scooters as you enter the house, generous dressing rooms and wardrobe space, and storage space for oversized items such as luggage, Christmas decorations or sports equipment.

We recently saw a stunning refurbished family house near Notting Hill which provided the wow factor, but the design didn’t allow for any coat cupboards in the entrance hall, there was no storage in bathrooms for toiletries and the laundry appliances were tucked in a cupboard under the stairs, whereas buyers would expect a housekeeper’s dedicated utility room for a house of that size.

Whilst these sound basic, we have seen buyers discount properties time and time again on these grounds – because day to day practical living really does matter to them. It is rare that buyers in this sensitive market will be fooled by aesthetics alone, so sellers and developers need to be mindful to take advice about design, function and practicality early on in the build or refurbishment.

This is something we regularly advise our landlords and family office clients on when they are refurbishing their properties for sale or a new rental cycle, in order to maximise their sales appeal or rental yield.

Influx of high quality rental properties as non-doms exit

More people are leaving the UK as the start of the new residence-based tax regime approaches on the 6th April, and in recent weeks our Property Management team has taken on an influx of new properties to be rented out or kept turnkey ready.

One of our hedge fund clients has just moved to Geneva and our team have rented out her immaculate Kensington home. Her priority, which is consistent with all of our other clients leaving their personal London homes, was tenant profile and quality. This remains the number one focus for these owners, even above rental yield. We have one of the most robust tenant referencing processes in the industry and we personally interview all prospective tenants, which is providing significant comfort for unintended landlords entrusting their homes to us.

Interestingly, our client found that her Geneva landlord had the same attitude and was more focused on her personal profile than her full asking price offer, which was secondary. We were able to provide a reference vouching for her as a longstanding client of ours, which secured her the property.

For our clients moving abroad but plan to return to London more frequently, we are keeping their homes turnkey ready with regular maintenance checks and walk-throughs, overseeing cleaning, gardening and security, taking in deliveries and managing post and bills. Most home insurance policies will become invalid if a property is left unoccupied for more than 60 days, so it’s essential that someone visits and inspects the property.

Our clients value the peace of mind that comes from knowing their property is being monitored, maintained and cared for while they’re away, with our trusted property management team on the ground to respond if something does goes wrong. For example, when one of our clients received an erroneous £11,000 bill from Thames Water, we spent six months disputing it on their behalf before the charge was finally corrected.

Unlike other property management services which charge monthly retainers and markups on contractor invoices, we streamline the process and charge a fixed hourly rate with no markups.

Recognition and knowledge sharing

We are delighted to be one of just eight property advisors across the country to be awarded the highest Top Flight ranking in the highly regarded Spear’s 500 2025 Index, published in March.

Described as ‘the Michelin guide to wealth’, Spear’s is the leading guide for advisers to high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices, with rankings based entirely on merit, reputation and track record.

This month we have been invited to share our views on the London property market at the request of our clients, private banks and the national press – all keen to better understand the dynamics at play and how best to navigate them.

This has included being guest speakers at a number of private bank client presentations and Q&A events, and we have discussed a wide range of property market trends with The Times, The Financial Times, The Evening Standard and The Telegraph in the past weeks, such as growing demand for our Home Management services and the client requests we satisfy, the trend for wealthy Americans moving to London and understanding how not to overpay for a property.

I was also interviewed about my journey behind building Eccord into one of London’s leading property advisory firms – read the interview here.

We pride ourselves on knowledge transfer and collaboration, so if you would like to discuss any element of the London property market please do get in touch, it would be our pleasure.