London Market Intelligence Q4 2026: the full report is online

Our second London Residential Market Intelligence of the year is online, with the position as at 28 October 2026, the day of the Budget. It follows the Q2 edition of April and, as promised then, it opens by marking our own work: what held, what the market overtook and what we correct.

Three numbers

• 12.6%: the average discount sellers in prime central London accepted on their first asking price in the third quarter, with just over half of the homes for sale already reduced (LonRes).
• 5.19%: the average gross rental yield across prime London, up from 4.82% in the second quarter because prices fell and rents rose. Prime central London flats yield about 4.0% (Savills). Both figures sit below the average buy to let mortgage rate of 5.79%.
• 24%, 44% and 49%: the income tax rates on rental income from 6 April 2027, confirmed in the Budget at two points above those already legislated.

What the Budget settled

Stamp duty and its surcharges are unchanged. The High Value Council Tax Surcharge goes ahead from April 2028 at the £2 million threshold, with bands from £2,500 to £7,500 a year. The consultation had asked whether owners who are not UK resident should pay more; the Budget did not announce it. Section 07 of the report sets out what is law, what is coming and what is only proposed.

What is in the report

• London sales: lower prices than a year ago, and why the indices now disagree about the direction.
• London lettings: scarce supply, slower rents, and the first rent tribunal decisions under the Renters’ Rights Act.
• Money: what a lender will actually advance at today’s yields, and three kinds of buyer.
• Regulation and tax watch, in force, legislated and proposed.
• Where buyers and sellers are meeting, and the REX view, signed by Angelo De Simone.

The full text is on the page, section by section. The PDF edition, thirteen pages, is there to download and keep.