The central London postcodes that are still in favour with homebuyers

The inner London property market is down, but certainly not out, according to the latest research from London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves.

Benham and Reeves analysed all residential property transactions to have taken place since we entered the first lockdown (23.03.2020) and how the capital is performing when split between inner and outer London.

The figures show that there have been just shy of 50,000 sales completed across the capital in this time, with homesellers securing an average of £487,500 in the process.

Months on end of lockdown restrictions have caused many to look from the inside out for bigger homes with the additional benefit of outdoor space, a trend that is apparent when you dissect the London market at a top-line level.

Since March of last year, there have been 65% more property sales across the capital’s peripheral boroughs compared to the number completed in inner London. just 38% of all transactions (18,459) have taken place in inner London, while outer London accounts for 62% (30,494).

However, scratch beneath the surface of this top-line trend and it’s clear that inner London is far from out of favour. While transactions level may be trailing, properties in inner London have sold for an average of £595,000 since lockdown, 34% more than sales transacting in outer London.

When breaking the market down to postcode level, it’s perhaps surprising to see that just two of the top 10 busiest property postcodes since we entered into lockdown are located in outer London.

The CR0 postcode of Croydon and Sutton has seen the most homes sold with 894 completed transactions, demonstrating the homebuyer appetite for homes in outer London. E17 in Waltham Forest also places in the top 10 (5th), with 584 homes sold since lockdown started.

In contrast, the City of London has seen just 35 transactions complete across its busiest postcode of EC2Y.

However, while the City has seen a slump, inner London accounts for four of the top 10 busiest London property postcodes since lockdown began. E14 in Tower Hamlets is the busiest of the lot, seeing the second largest number of transactions (759) across the whole of London since March of last year.

SW18 (622) and SW11 (614) in Wandsworth rank as the third and fourth busiest overall, while SW6 in Hammersmith and Fulham also makes the top 10 with 518 homes sold.

It’s clear that homebuyers are also keen for a compromise, with the SW19, SW16, SW17 and SE10 postcodes all ranking in the top 10, and all sitting on the border of inner and outer London.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“There’s no doubting that the unprecedented events of the last year have spurred many homebuyers to reevaluate their property priorities, opting for larger homes on the outskirts of the capital and beyond.

This trend has led to the false assumption that inner London has lost its desirability and that buyer demand has evaporated completely. This simply isn’t the case and, in fact, parts of the inner London market have been performing very well since lockdown restrictions were imposed.

As the capital starts to reopen for business, it is inevitable that demand for central London homes will continue to spread.

An interesting trend that is also emerging is the choice by London buyers to sit on the geographical fence, opting for areas that fall on the borders of inner and outer London. This allows them to secure the larger home they seek for a lower price, but without completing forsaking the ability to commute across London with ease.”

Table shows transactions and sold price data for each area since we entered into the first lockdown on 23rd March 2020 and Jan 2021 (latest available)
Category	Completed Transactions	Median Sold Price	% of total transactions
Inner London	18,459	£595,000	38%
Outer London	30,494	£445,000	62%
London (All)	48,953	£487,500	N/A
*Sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid data for residential property sale completions*

Table shows the 10 best performing London postcodes based on total transactions since we entered into the first lockdown on 23rd March 2020 and Jan 2021 (latest available)
Postcode district	Borough(s)	Completed Transactions	Median Sold Price	Inner/Outer
CR0	Croydon, Sutton	894	£350,000	Outer
E14	Tower Hamlets	759	£560,000	Inner
SW18	Wandsworth	622	£680,000	Inner
SW11	Wandsworth, Lambeth	614	£775,000	Inner
E17	Waltham Forest	584	£490,000	Outer
SW19	Merton, Wandsworth	571	£711,850	Inner and Outer
SW16	Lambeth, Croydon, Wandsworth, Merton	519	£475,000	Inner and Outer
SW6	Hammersmith and Fulham	518	£895,000	Inner
SW17	Wandsworth, Merton	516	£594,000	Inner and Outer
SE10	Greenwich, Lewisham	483	£550,000	Inner and Outer
*Sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid data for residential property sale completions*

Table shows the total number of transactions across each borough, media sold price and the top three best performing postcodes in each borough.
Location	Borough(s)	Completed Transactions	Outcode	Trans	Price
BARKING AND DAGENHAM	955	£320,000	IG11	280	£315,000
			RM10	201	£310,000
			RM8	195	£320,000
BARNET	2,074	£557,750	EN5	265	£562,000
			NW7	202	£615,000
			HA8	190	£486,750
BEXLEY	1,859	£375,000	DA16	270	£395,000
			DA7	269	£415,000
			DA15	264	£409,000
BRENT	1,174	£515,000	NW10	335	£508,500
			NW9	182	£482,500
			NW6	173	£692,000
BROMLEY	2,853	£475,000	BR3	474	£502,500
			BR2	452	£480,000
			BR6	448	£510,000
CAMDEN	1,094	£785,000	NW3	326	£1,005,000
			NW6	211	£680,000
			NW1	172	£707,500
CITY OF LONDON	63	£732,500	EC2Y	35	£780,000
			EC1A	11	£765,820
			EC4A	4	£430,000
CITY OF WESTMINSTER	1,252	£895,000	W2	285	£868,000
			W9	159	£705,000
			NW8	153	£868,000
CROYDON	2,503	£400,000	CR0	871	£350,000
			CR2	430	£450,000
			CR8	278	£550,000
EALING	1,586	£489,995	W3	286	£542,500
			W5	277	£685,000
			UB6	228	£465,000
ENFIELD	1,556	£400,000	EN1	280	£399,998
			EN3	261	£345,000
			EN2	230	£487,500
GREENWICH	1,679	£430,000	SE10	469	£552,900
			SE18	364	£360,000
			SE9	321	£420,000
HACKNEY	1,125	£575,000	N16	269	£625,550
			E8	172	£580,050
			N1	168	£675,000
HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM	1,212	£765,000	SW6	518	£895,000
			W6	259	£905,000
			W12	192	£615,000
HARINGEY	1,244	£540,000	N17	247	£399,000
			N8	243	£575,000
			N22	180	£520,000
HARROW	1,145	£500,000	HA2	292	£475,000
			HA3	203	£467,500
			HA7	193	£545,000
HAVERING	2,009	£380,000	RM3	317	£350,000
			RM12	290	£396,000
			RM11	283	£440,000
HILLINGDON	1,643	£435,000	HA4	367	£505,000
			UB10	294	£456,000
			UB4	199	£395,000
HOUNSLOW	1,155	£435,000	W4	219	£924,000
			TW7	216	£480,000
			TW13	162	£346,500
ISLINGTON	949	£650,000	N1	242	£751,500
			N7	211	£552,500
			N5	174	£752,500
KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA	974	£1,260,000	W8	159	£2,000,000
			W11	159	£1,200,000
			SW3	151	£2,000,000
KINGSTON UPON THAMES	1,176	£503,250	KT6	238	£465,000
			KT2	225	£725,000
			KT3	200	£547,500
LAMBETH	1,988	£590,625	SW16	335	£475,000
			SW2	304	£544,000
			SW4	290	£632,500
LEWISHAM	1,863	£445,000	SE13	302	£429,455
			SE6	288	£425,500
			SE23	275	£500,000
MERTON	1,354	£519,000	SW19	501	£750,000
			CR4	285	£399,000
			SW20	242	£699,975
NEWHAM	1,130	£395,000	E16	361	£405,000
			E15	207	£430,000
			E6	201	£363,000
REDBRIDGE	1,269	£445,000	IG1	202	£380,000
			IG8	190	£500,000
			IG6	161	£440,000
RICHMOND UPON THAMES	1,562	£700,000	TW1	248	£792,500
			TW2	220	£596,475
			TW11	198	£740,000
SOUTHWARK	1,531	£546,000	SE15	345	£565,000
			SE1	271	£525,000
			SE22	262	£727,500
SUTTON	1,393	£418,000	SM1	297	£400,000
			SM5	248	£409,000
			SM6	245	£406,000
TOWER HAMLETS	1,486	£502,000	E14	759	£560,000
			E1	256	£500,000
			E3	246	£448,000
WALTHAM FOREST	1,549	£475,000	E17	584	£490,000
			E4	386	£462,250
			E10	308	£455,950
WANDSWORTH	2,548	£674,000	SW11	614	£775,000
			SW18	613	£680,000
			SW17	476	£595,500