This decline has been largely due to the industry-wide lockdown and travel restrictions imposed back in March.
Transactions in London's prime £1m-plus market have declined, with only four taking place in June, compared to 451 in January, according to high net worth (HNW) broker Enness Global.
This decline has been largely due to the industry-wide lockdown and travel restrictions imposed back in March.
Even with this decline, which is likely to abate as the effects of lockdown ease, there have already been 1,348 sales above £1m between January and June 2020, with an average sold price of £1.9m.
The £1m to £5m category has accounted for the higher number of these transactions (92%), with an average sold price of £1.7m, while 97 transactions have completed between £5m and £10m and 13 at £10m-plus, with the respective average sold prices of £6.7m and £16.3m.
Postcodes SW6 and NW3 were found to be London’s top spots for £1m-plus property sales so far in 2020, with 92 transactions registered in each during the year so far.
Other postcodes to rank highly include SW11 (82), SW3 (73), SW7 (68), W2 (63), W8 (54), SW18 (52), N1 (51) and W4 (50).
However, while Marylebone’s W1G postcode may have seen just two transactions so far this year, it was home to the highest sold price so far in 2020, averaging £8.1m.
All but one of the 92 transactions seen in the SW6 postcode so far this year fall within the £1m to £5m price category.
NW3 (86), SW11 (81), SW7 (58) and W2 (56) also rank high when it comes to the number of transactions in the £1m to £5m price threshold, while the W1S postcode is home to the highest average sold price (£3.9m).
Just 23 prime London postcodes have seen transactions complete within the £5m and £10m price threshold so far this year.
With 16 in total, the SW3 postcode ranks top, followed by W8 (11), SW1W (10), SW7 (10) and SW1X (7).
Mayfair’s W1K postcode commanded the highest average sold price at £9.2m.
Chelsea’s SW3 postcode has seen the most transactions in this price category so far this year (4), with nine other postcodes seeing property sales complete over this threshold.
However, in terms of value, East Finchley’s N2 postcode ranks top with an average sold price of £23.5m.
Islay Robinson, group CEO of Enness Global Mortgages, said: “While it may seem as though the prime London market is slowly grounding to a halt, with transactions evaporating in June, this is simply the lagged consequences of the lockdown imposed back in March.
"In fact, it’s clear that the appetite for high-end homeownership within the capital was alive and well during the first half of this year and this is certainly something we’ve seen on the ground since the market reopened in May.
"A surge of foreign interest, in particular, coupled with the added bonus of a stamp duty holiday discount has seen demand for prime London property surge in recent weeks.
"What will be interesting to see is whether the preferred prime postcode playgrounds of the super-rich will be the same post-lockdown as they were prior to it.
"While the more traditional areas such as Fulham, Chelsea and Kensington have done well so far this year, there has been a marginal move towards areas such as Hampstead and Wandsworth.
"With homeowners of all shapes, sizes and budgets now valuing more space within the home, as well outside garden space and nearby green spaces, we could see more high-end homeowners head to the capital’s peripherals in search of these features.”
