Mayfair has become the most sought after address in London for multi-millionaires and billionaires, with homes in Mayfair now commanding a 50% price premium compared to the rest of Prime Central London, with the sales market driven by vendor sentiment and protracted price negotiations says a new wealth report by Wetherell.

Wetherell forecast that due to a lack of luxury new homes supply over the next few years the price of trophy newly built ultra-prime homes in Mayfair have the potential to achieve over £12,000 psf, a new price record for London. The new Mayfair 2024 Residential Market Report published by Wetherell analyses Mayfair sales and lettings data from 2023 and 2022, sourced from LonRes, the Land Registry and local market intelligence.

Mayfair: London’s most sought after and valuable address
During 2023 some £527 million worth of homes were sold in Mayfair. The new Wetherell report found that homes for the resale market in Mayfair now command a 50% price premium compared to other homes in the rest of Prime Central London. Almost 70% of the homes in Mayfair are now valued at between £2,000 psf up to £10,000 psf, compared to the rest of Prime Central London where only 24% of the stock achieved values of over £2,000 psf. In 2023, the average price of second-hand homes in Mayfair rose by 7.5%, whilst values across the rest of Prime Central London (PCL) fell by an average of -1.2%.

For the most expensive addresses in London the six year average shows the average sales price in Mayfair is now £20.35 million, beating Knightsbridge (£19.95m), Kensington (£19.11m), Belgravia (£16.4m) and Chelsea (£14.6million). The most expensive home in Mayfair sold in 2023 for a reported price of £138 million. During 2023 resale apartment prices in Mayfair outperformed the rest of London averaging values of £2,272 psf (two bed) up to £2,903 psf (four bed), compared to equivalent figures of £1,505 psf to £2,134 psf for the rest of PCL.

Vendor Sentiment, vendor profiling & Stock Supply Is the Key to Mayfair’s Performance
Wetherell say that the key to understanding prices and sales deals in Mayfair is to understand vendor sentiment, the key vendors in the marketplace and sales stock supply. There are currently five key vendor groups in Mayfair – Mayfair developers, downsizers, generational upsizers, disillusioned landlords and tax avoiders/Home Counties space invaders. Wetherell say that the sentiment and activities of these five groups has a major impact on the strength, pricing and deals achieved in the Mayfair market.

Mayfair Developers
The Wetherell report reveals that between 2017 and 2023 Mayfair’s leading developers such as Grosvenor, Lodha, Finchatton, Clivedale and British Land built and sold over 500 new homes in Mayfair generating sales worth almost £1.9 billion. Although 502 second-hand homes were also sold in Mayfair over the same period, the newly built homes commanded a significant price premium (up to £10,000 psf) which resulted in new homes accounting for 60% of all Mayfair home sales by value in 2018, 80% in 2019, 85% in 2020, 50% in 2021 and 80% in 2022.

In 2022 for sales over £5 million in value, the value of Mayfair’s new build sales was nearly double second-hand home sales (£433 million vs £224 million) however 2023 saw a sudden reversal as new ultra-prime developments sold out. During 2023 new homes sales plummeted to 35% of all sales and by value second-hand home sales far exceeded new homes (£332 million vs £195 million) for the first time in five years as new build stocks were almost totally depleted.

Wetherell highlight that over 2024 and into 2025 there are currently only three new luxury residential developments under construction – 1 Mayfair, One Carrington and Three Kings Yard – providing just 65 newly built homes. Wetherell say that this massive reduction in new homes supply, and constrained future supply balanced against significant global demand for luxury new stock, has the potential to put a significant upward pressure on the pricing of the limited supply of new homes available to purchase.

Peter Wetherell, Founder & Executive Chairman of Wetherell says: “For the last seven years there has been a plentiful supply of ultra-prime new homes stock in Mayfair which has been snapped up by multi-millionaires and billionaires from around the world, especially wealthy purchasers from India, the Middle East and America. Suddenly this stock has all sold out and new homes supply has become extremely constrained yet the appetite for super luxury homes remains. The highly anticipated Caudwell luxury development known as 1 Mayfair on South Audley Street has now become “the only new homes game in Mayfair” and it will be interesting to see the impact this limited supply has on new homes pricing in Mayfair. I forecast that the pricing for ultra-prime new trophy homes in Mayfair has the potential to achieve over £12,000 psf over the next few years, exceeding the record £10,000 psf prices already achieved at No.1 Grosvenor Square. This new level of pricing will make Mayfair the most valuable real estate address in the world by far.”

Peter Wetherell adds: “Well informed buyers are now aware that the development boom in Mayfair is finite and that there is now a significant shortage of large newly built luxury homes available for sale in relation to global demand. Local planning restrictions in the Westminster City Council’s Development Plan for the next 20 years prohibits the size of units in a new Mayfair development to a maxiumum of 2,150 sqft (200 sqm). There is a further prohibition for the amalgamation of units – so it is very much a market of “buy now whilst stocks last”. My advice to buyers wanting large luxury new homes is that you had better hail this taxi because there isn’t another one coming around the corner!”

Wetherell highlight that the other four vendor groups play a significant role in driving the supply and pricing of second-hand homes in Mayfair.