London Prime Areas See 22% Fewer Sales So Far This Year Compared to 2019

Home sales in London’s prime neighborhoods have fallen by 22% so far this year compared to the same period in 2019, halted by the coronavirus lockdown measures that shuttered the city’s real estate market until mid-May, according to a report Monday from real estate data firm LonRes.

The unforeseen spring shutdown wiped out the city’s strong start to the year, the report said.

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The damage was done in the roughly six weeks between March 16 and May 31 alone, when transactions plummeted 58% compared to the same time a year earlier, the report said.

The country’s lockdown rules to fight the spread and impact of the coronavirus were introduced at the end of March, and the housing market saw a near-complete shutdown. Buyers and sellers were urged to delay moves and physical viewings were banned.

Those real estate-related restrictions were lifted in England on May 13, allowing for activity to resume in accordance with government-mandated social distancing guidelines.

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Pre-lockdown, London’s prime sales market had witnessed a busy start to the year, with buyers and sellers coaxed from sidelines by newfound economic and political clarity after years of uncertainty. As a result, “more homes were reaching the market and transactions and prices were on the rise,” Marcus Dixon, head of research at LonRes said in the report.

The number of properties sold between Jan. 1 and March 15, was up 24% on the same time last year.

“Since the market has opened for business, buyers are returning, and prime London is well placed to take advantage,” Mr. Dixon said. “But only a couple of weeks in, it is too early to tell what the impact on our market will be in the short to medium-term.”