Agreed sales above £1m and £2m reached 94% of the levels recorded a year earlier, according to TwentyCi data cited by Savills.
Prime Central London values fell 1.5% during the quarter, while values were down 4.8% annually.
However, prices remained 27% below their 2014 peak, which Savills said meant the market was offering its best relative value on record.
Outer prime London recorded a quarterly fall of 1.1%, unchanged from Q2, while values were 3% lower year-on-year. This represented the most significant annual decline in more than eight years.
Frances McDonald, director of research at Savills, said: “Prices in Prime Central London have also continued to adjust, but with concerns around the upcoming Budget far less pronounced than they were at this time last year, activity has continued at a steady pace, supported by cash buyers, and those who [are] less exposed to higher borrowing costs.”
Industry, not regulation, must lead later life lending change
Sponsored by Suffolk Building Society Intermediaries
Higher-value properties face greater price pressure
Price falls were more pronounced at the higher end of the market.
Across outer prime London, houses valued at £2m or more fell 2.5% annually, compared with a 1.3% decline for homes valued below £1m.
A similar pattern was recorded in prime regional markets, where higher-value properties fell 5.5% year-on-year compared with a 2.9% decline among properties below £1m.
McDonald said the market had become “increasingly sensitive to price thresholds”, with £2m becoming an important financial and psychological dividing line for buyers.
Regional prime values continue to fall
Prime regional values declined 1.5% during Q3 and were 4.1% lower year-on-year.
Markets further from London, which include the Midlands, the North of England, Scotland and Wales, only recorded quarterly falls of less than 1%.
In comparison, values across London’s commuter belt and the wider South of England fell by around 2%.
McDonald said: “The wider South and London’s commuter belt is feeling a ripple effect from a lack of movers upsizing or relocating from London, which has translated into more sustained price falls.”
