A leading buying agent says the with the budget looming, confidence in Prime Central London’s property market has tanked. 

Camilla Dell of Black Brick says prices in this rarified market are now no less than 24% below their peak of 11 years ago. 

She cites Savills as blaming “unprecedented levels of speculation” about the possibility of tax hikes in next month’s Budget for throwing the market into “a state of suspended animation” with prices dropping 1.8% in the third quarter of this year, contributing to an annual fall of 4.7%. 

And she says that Knight Frank has revised its PCL forecast for 2026 from an original expectation of 3% growth, to zero. 

Dell herself, though, says there is a silver lining for investors. 

She comments: “While nerves are certainly getting the best of some prospective buyers, others clearly see the current situation as an opportunity not a crisis. 

We are receiving calls from some clients who are saying now might actually be the right time. For the brave that are willing to transact, it could be a smart time to buy because it is certainly a buyers’ market.”