A study from London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves uncovered which London boroughs have been the busiest in the past 12 months when it comes to the number of homes sold as a percentage of all private dwellings within each borough. 

According to the findings, in the past 12 months, there have been 94,483 residential sales across the capital. Measured against a total private dwelling stock of 2.8 million homes, that’s 3.3% of all London homes changing ownership in the past year. 

Busiest housing markets

Benham and Reeves’ data finds that the busiest housing market in London is found in Havering. The Eastern Outer London borough has a total private dwelling stock of 88,998 and has generated 4,150 sales in the past year. This means that 4,663 in every 100,000 homes, or 4.7% of the entire market stock, has been sold. 

In second place, Bromley in the South East has witnessed a transaction rate of 4,484 in every 100,000 homes, meaning 4.5% of the entire stock has been sold in the past 12 months. This is closely followed by Wandsworth (4.3%), Richmond-upon-Thames (4.2%), and Lambeth (4.1%).

Quietest housing markets

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the quietest housing market in London is found in The City of London. According to the data, only 1.9% of the borough’s homes have changed ownership this year. Although, with strong signs that homebuyers are now returning to the city, the central London housing market is expected to show considerable growth in 2022. 

Westminster and Brent have also had very quiet housing markets, with both only witnessing 2.1% of the dwelling stock being sold in the last year. This is followed closely by East London borough Newham (2.3%) and Kensington & Chelsea (2.4%).

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “It’s clear from our research that despite many homebuyers now heading back to the capital, it’s the peripheral boroughs offering larger homes that continue to be the most popular.” 

von Grundherr continued: “It’s also interesting to see areas to the south of the river performing well and it seems that the lack of decent public transport links, often cited as a reason homebuyers want to stay north, is no longer the deterrent it once was.” 

von Grundherr concluded: “Although again, this is certainly another result of the government’s work from home guidance and we expect the traditionally popular central areas of London to start gaining momentum as normality returns.”