Savills' London prime residential index is about 27% below its 2014 peak; on an
inf-adjusted basis prices have fallen more than 49%. A decade-plus downturn
reflects higher transaction taxes alongside political and economic shocks. Tax
measures since 2014 — beginning with George Osborne's stamp duty reforms and
followed by additional levies on landlords, second-home buyers, overseas buyers
and corporate purchasers — have materially depressed high-end transactions.
Savills head of residential research Lucian Cook says the market currently lacks
stimulus to spark a recovery.