Young ‘upsizers’ drive demand for multi-million-pound homes in Mayfair

London’s ultra-wealthy have remained immune to the downturn in the housing market, especially buyers looking for homes in and around Mayfair.

Cash-laden international buyers from the United Arab Emirates, the USA and China are all battling it out for a spot on the affluent West-End borough of Mayfair, where low supply has driven up prices and demand. 

Posh-pads in the exclusive neighbourhood of Mayfair are now commanding a 50 per cent price premium compared to the rest of prime central London. 

A report by Wetherell and Beauchamp Estates found that almost 70 per cent of the homes in Mayfair are now valued at between £2,000 and £10,000 per square foot (psf), up significantly from the likes of Fulham and Chelsea, where only 24 per cent of the stock achieved values of over £2,000. 

Charles Lloyd, head of Beauchamp Estates, Mayfair, said low stock levels, especially for newly built apartments, which many overseas buyers favour, have “caused prices to strengthen and has generated a price premium for newly built turn-key homes coming onto the market”.

The residents of the wealthy London enclave, which has been home to a number of celebrities, including composer Andrew Llyod Webber and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, has evolved over the years.  

“A combination of divorces, old age, Brexit and debt is forcing Mayfair property owners who include British, Greek, French and Italian vendors to put their second-hand apartments and houses in Mayfair for sale,” the report said. 

“These are then getting purchased by end-users or builders who are then refurbishing them and benefitting from the uplift in capital values.”

Moreover, there is also a trend of young generational upsizers, who accounted for around 37.4 per cent of last year’s sales of homes priced between £2m and £5m in Mayfair.

The premier end of London’s property market has been spared from the impact of higher borrowing costs, which has slowed down the number of homes being bought as buyers cannot afford mortgage costs. 

There was a 10 per cent rise in multi-millionaires and billionaires buying luxury homes in London during 2023. 

Late last year, Indian vaccine billionaire Adar Poonawalla closed the most expensive deal on a home, paying £138m for a 25,000 square foot mansion in Mayfair.

It comes as billionaire John Caudwel, founder of the defunct Phones4U, is gearing up for the opening of his £2bn luxury apartment scheme within the neighbourhood. 

The landmark scheme, which will include a 20-metre underground swimming pool, has been in the works for over seven years and is due to be completed at the end of 2025. It will reach up to eight storeys high and include a number of penthouse suites. 

Rosy Khalastchy, director at Beauchamp Estates said: “Since the start of 2024 the prime London residential market has really started to gather pace. With the interest rates now settled down this has had a positive impact on the marketplace.”  

“International buyers from China, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been the most prevalent overseas buyers active in prime central London over the first quarter of 2024.  Most international buyers have had a budget of between £15m to £50m with a few having a budget of £80 million upwards. “

She added: “There are also domestic UK buyers in the prime central London marketplace but they are typically spending below £2m and are looking at apartments in Marylebone and St John’s Wood and Maida Vale.

“So we have found that it is currently  both the top most end of the market and the very low end that have been the most active. So the above £15m and the below £2m marketplaces have been the most busy with buyer enquiries.”

“During the first quarter of 2024 the top six most sought after addresses in Central London with wealthy buyers have been Mayfair, Marylebone, Kensington, Little Venice, St John’s Wood and Hampstead. “