_KF Insight: Mayfair's renaissance boosts residential property transactions

The Mayfair property market has proven more resilient than other high-value areas of prime central London in recent years thanks to the area’s revitalisation, according to Harvey Cyzer, Knight Frank’s Mayfair department head.

While transaction volumes and pricing have become more subdued in prime central London as the market adapts to higher rates of stamp duty and political uncertainty, this has coincided with the arrival of high-quality new-build developments and public realm improvements in Mayfair.

“Mayfair has always had a uniquely compelling mix of shops, hotels, restaurants and homes but what has changed in recent years is the arrival of half a dozen world-class residential schemes that I would call ‘international developments’,” said Harvey.

“They contain amenities that global buyers are used to, such as concierge services, parking, swimming pool, gym and spa facilities. They are often serviced by a leading hotel and can be of a similar level of quality to what you would find in other global cities.”

Recent new-build developments in Mayfair include 20 Grosvenor Square, 1 Grosvenor Square and Clarges Mayfair.

In addition to these developments, the Grosvenor Estate and the Crown Estate have carried out improvement works in Mayfair and St James’s. Grosvenor has revamped areas including Mount Street while the Crown Estate has spent in the region of £500 million transforming the area around Jermyn Street as part of the St James’s Gateway project.

^{Above: Harvey Cyzer, talks to Knight Frank's Head of London Residential Research, Tom Bill}

This has helped Mayfair outperform other markets in prime central London.

There were 90 £2 million-plus sales in the year to March 2018 in Mayfair, according to LonRes data, which excludes new-build sales. This compares to 60 in the year to March 2015, a period shortly before the prime central London market peak in August 2015. This 50% increase is larger than any other prime market in the boroughs of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea.

It was a similar pattern above £5 million, where the number of sales in Mayfair rose to 30 from 24 over the same period, a 25% rise that compared to a 28% decline across the whole of prime central London.

Furthermore, the average £ per square foot in Mayfair rose to £2,005 from £1,945 over the same period, LonRes data shows. This 3% rise was the second highest across the same two boroughs and compares to a 1% fall across prime central London as a whole.

Meanwhile, pricing in Mayfair is also performing more strongly than other locations. Average prices in the year to April rose 0.5% in Mayfair, which compared to a 1.2% decline across prime central London. 

“On top of all of this you have the opening of a Crossrail station at Bond Street,” said Harvey. “It means buyers who would look in other areas of prime central London are now being drawn to Mayfair, which will have the added benefit of being less than 30 minutes from Heathrow airport.” 

The Mayfair sales team is on hand to help with any query related to buying or selling property in the area.