£5m-Plus London Property Sales Rise 13.6% While Wider Prime Sales Fall 17.5%

Sales of London homes priced above £5 million rose 13.6% year on year in October, even as transactions across the wider prime market fell 17.5%, according to new LonRes figures reported on 12 November.

The divergence is the clearest feature of a subdued month for prime residential property. Achieved prices across the broader market were 6.6% lower than a year earlier, and the number of homes going under offer fell 21.3%. Yet completed transactions at the top end moved in the opposite direction.

The National’s report also records a 2.3% annual reduction in the number of £5m-plus homes available for sale. That leaves buyers assessing a market where overall conditions are weak, but the stock and activity in their chosen price bracket may tell a different story.

A stronger month at the top end, rather than a confirmed recovery

The £5m-plus increase is significant because it concerns completed sales. It shows that substantial acquisitions continued despite the wider slowdown. It does not establish why those buyers acted, how they financed their purchases or whether their experience represents a lasting change in demand.

LonRes explicitly cautions that its monthly figures for this segment can be volatile. The longer comparison reinforces that caution: Property Industry Eye’s coverage of the same release reports £5m-plus transactions down 6.8% across January to October against the equivalent period in 2025.

A positive October can therefore coexist with a weaker year to date. Buyers and sellers should be wary of treating the latest increase as a signal that discounts are about to disappear or that values have reached their low point. Neither conclusion follows from a single month’s transaction count.

The wider market still shows pressure on sellers

Approximately half of prime London properties for sale have undergone at least one price reduction. The lower number of homes going under offer adds a separate indication of caution in the pipeline, although an agreed offer is not the same as a completed transaction.

These measures describe different parts of the market. A seller reducing an ambitious asking price is not necessarily accepting a price below current value. Equally, fewer available homes above £5 million do not imply a general shortage across every prime neighbourhood or property type.

For a purchaser, the relevant evidence remains the individual property, comparable completed sales and the seller’s circumstances. The wider figures strengthen the case for careful negotiation; they do not supply a reliable discount percentage for every address.

Higher rents add another consideration for buyers who wait

Prime London rental values increased 5% over the year, according to the October figures. For households renting while they consider a purchase, that introduces another cost into the decision to wait. A weaker sales market and a more expensive rental market can exist at the same time.

However, rental growth does not prove that buying is financially preferable. The comparison depends on the specific property, expected period of ownership, transaction costs, mortgage expense and the value placed on flexibility. The sales and rental indices cannot simply be combined to calculate the return on an individual home.

Substantial wealth does not always mean readily available purchase funds

The transaction figures do not identify how many purchasers borrowed. Willow’s assessment is that continued activity above £5 million nevertheless makes the structure of large purchases commercially relevant, particularly where a buyer’s wealth is held across investments, business interests and property.

A purchaser may be able to afford a home in terms of net assets while preferring to avoid selling investments, extracting a large company distribution or waiting for another property to complete. Those objectives need to be assessed alongside the cost and obligations of borrowing.

The starting point is the amount of cash required at each stage, including the deposit, completion funds and purchase costs, together with the liquidity the buyer wants to retain afterwards. A substantial asset total does not, by itself, show that those funds will be available when needed.

Complex income and repayment timing can shape the lender choice

Investec’s published commentary on complex-income mortgages describes assessing remuneration such as bonuses, partnership distributions, share income and foreign currency earnings alongside salary. It illustrates why a borrower with substantial but irregular earnings may need a different assessment from someone receiving a fixed monthly income.

Repayment structure matters too. Investec’s residential product information includes interest-only, repayment and combined arrangements. These are examples of available structures, not an assurance that a particular buyer or property will qualify.

An interest-only arrangement leaves the capital outstanding and requires a credible repayment plan. A buyer expecting to reduce borrowing after a bonus, business sale or investment distribution should also consider what happens if the payment is delayed or smaller than expected, and whether early repayment charges apply.

A private bank may be appropriate, but the purchase price alone does not decide that. The requested loan, income evidence, security, repayment plan and any wider banking requirements should be compared across suitable lenders.

Keeping investments requires a comparison of cost and risk

Borrowing against the home may allow a buyer to retain more of an investment portfolio. That preserves market exposure but also leaves the buyer with debt to service. Investment returns are uncertain, while interest and other borrowing costs still have to be met.

A separate route is borrowing against eligible investments. Coutts’s investment-backed lending information explains how a portfolio can support liquidity, while warning that insufficient security or certain currency movements may trigger a margin call requiring a shortfall to be addressed at short notice.

The two forms of security should not be confused. The choice requires a review of borrowing cost, accessible reserves, the assets committed and the consequences of adverse markets. Keeping a portfolio intact is an objective to assess, rather than an automatic reason to borrow.

International purchasers need the eligibility work done early

Foreign currency earnings and overseas residence are separate lending questions. A bank may accept an income currency without accepting applicants resident in every jurisdiction. For example, the Investec residential product page cited above specifies UK residency, despite the bank’s discussion of complex and foreign currency income.

For an overseas purchaser, lender selection therefore needs to establish the accepted residence, income evidence, ownership structure and source of funds at the outset. The effect of exchange-rate movements on sterling purchase funds and repayments also needs to be understood.

Where companies, trusts or assets in several countries are involved, the borrowing review should be coordinated with the buyer’s legal and tax advisers. A lender’s willingness to consider a structure is not confirmation that the structure is suitable for the buyer.

For active buyers, preparation can matter as much as the discount

October’s divergence gives buying agents and purchasers a more useful starting point than a blanket claim that prime London is either recovering or standing still. Substantial transactions are taking place within a market that continues to show weaker activity and pricing overall.

For a live acquisition, the practical task is to establish the funding requirement, lender eligibility, likely valuation and completion timetable before making commitments that depend on borrowing. A credible financing plan can support negotiations, but an initial indication should not be treated as a mortgage offer.

Willow can assess the proposed purchase against the buyer’s complete financial position and coordinate suitable borrowing through to completion. The aim is to secure the property on terms that fit the buyer’s income, assets and wider plans, without treating one month’s market figures as a forecast.