Is London’s housing market faltering?

Prime Central London has always been viewed as safe. It has some major plus points for the world’s wealthy – it’s on the Greenwich Meridian so can trade East and West, is an island considered geographically safe and geo-politically stable. Wherever you lived in the world you could stash a considerable portion of your wealth in this safe haven with the added bonus that, if a downturn were to grip your own country, you can relocate to London.

The relative global stability of the last decade has led to empty properties. The heart went out of Prime Central London years ago. One block north and south of the Kings Road exhibits some semblance of the old days but the street itself now resembles a kind of upmarket shopping mall with precious little individuality. The market here has stagnated over the last few years with movement in an out strangled by new asset taxes and changes to stamp duty.

But is the area on the cusp of a sea change? The swift introduction of wealth orders and sanctions on many of the area’s oligarchs is likely to make investors think again about using London as a safe haven for wealth.