Savills has admitted that Prime Central London (PCL) prices are now more than 25% below their peak. 

And falls have been seen across almost all prime locations in and out of the capital.

The agency’s latest snapshot shows that ongoing domestic and geopolitical uncertainty have eroded buyer and seller confidence at the top end of the market.

And price falls accelerated again in the second quarter of 2026. They were down -1.7% over the past three months, a similar pace to the price falls seen in the lead up to last year’s Budget. 

PCL prices are now -26.3% below their 2014 peak.

“Savills agents agreed that confidence among both prospective buyers and sellers is continuing to soften. 

“Taken before the Makerfield by-election and the Prime Minister’s resignation but against a backdrop of ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East, this decline in market sentiment has been reflected in further price falls as buyers have tightened their budgets” comments Frances McDonald, director of residential research at Savills.

“But at the same time, sellers have also reined in their price expectations, And the increasing alignment in expectations, has supported ongoing market activity despite a thinner seam of demand.”

The majority of agents report that the tax environment is continuing to weigh on international demand, with nearly half saying international demand had reduced in London. 

While the pace of falls this quarter has picked up across all parts of Prime Central London, there is some variation, with areas such as Notting Hill continuing to benefit from needs based demand for family housing, recording annual price falls of less than -4%.compared to falls of -7% across what Savills calls “more fringe central London neighbourhoods” such as Westminster and Pimlico.

Outer Prime London markets are less dire, with prices falling by -1.1%  overall (and just -0.7% for houses as opposed to flats), during the second quarter of the year. 

Savills says values in West and South West London “have held up well” over the past year despite falling by -1.2% and -1.5%, respectively.

Across the prime regional markets values are down by -1.7% in Q2 and -3.8% annually, with prices in the debt-driven commuter belt markets and the more discretionary, top end 

country house market most affected. 

McDonald continues: “While the market for rural properties has become noticeably more sticky, values in urban locations are holding up better. Driven by needs based buyers these markets benefit from the connectivity, good transport links and a demand for schools and have shown more resilience compared to the more discretionary rural markets.”

Savills survey also shows that almost all agents surveyed said deals were taking longer to progress and specifically a delay in time between offer accepted and exchange.

“The time taken for deals to reach exchanges is reflective of the caution in the market, this lack of urgency is the polar opposite of what we experienced during the mini housing market boom, that now seems a distant memory.

“Given domestic political uncertainty, we expect the prime market to remain price sensitive over the remainder of the year, despite the prospect of less geo-political uncertainty and a recent tempering of mortgage rates” concludes McDonald.