The capital city is seeing increasing periods of slowdown in the sale expensive homes due to the surge of high prices and increases in higher stamp duty rates. This is a contradiction to what many experts believed would be the case following the results of the general election and the victory for the Conservative Party. Many within and around the UK housing market believed the property scene would see an explosion of activity, but that has not been the case.

The property values in the city of London combined with higher stamp duty rates are keeping would-be buyers at bay and forcing them to look elsewhere. For those reasons, the property market in the capital remains subdued.

Knight Frank head of residential research, Tom Bill, commented on the state of the market in the days following the election, saying: “Seasonally you tend to see prospective buyers registering with estate agents in May. But that hasn’t happened post-election.”

A change in the wave of buyers is also taking place in regard to luxury properties in London. For many years, foreign investors were the primary buying group. Now, domestic buyers are leading the pack of investors.

Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research, commented on the rebirth of domestic buyers, saying: “That trend has held from 2013 till today. UK buyers are back with a bang.”

Many investors are picking up property in the city of London, but many house owners are also realising the benefits of a remortgage instead of moving home. Interest rates remain at all-time low levels and the possibility of a rise in rates is becoming more unpredictable as the days pass.