Article written and provided by Middleton Advisors, for Beacon Gainer, professional services group and private wealth advisory platform Miolo Adviser.

The rise and rise of off-market transactions.

“In the USA, where all buyers and all sellers employ an agent, brokers are pretty much the norm,” says Ashley Wilsdon, Middleton’s Head of London Buying. “But in the UK brokers were virtually unknown until about five years ago.”

“Now, there are around 150 brokers in Prime Central London who buy and sell. This has greatly increased competition for the well-established, high street estate agents and resulted in a marked increase in the proportion of London properties that are being sold off-market. So, however savvy you are, whichever selling agent you have on your side, it’s increasingly difficult for you to have visibility of the real ‘trophy’ assets – the best-in-class properties, that never reach the open market.”

 Buyers, sellers and brokers.

“At Middleton, we have developed close relationships with this new generation of brokers because we have very clearly defined roles,” says Ashley. “My team only represent private clients that purchase. James Moran’s team only represent private clients that sell, and so we are very much specialists in our areas, retaining absolute impartiality and independence.

“And that, of course, is where Middleton excels. By extending our network to encompass London’s brokers we’re doubling down on our own specialist skills as buyers.”

London’s current state of affairs.

Demand across the prime domestic markets such as Fulham, Battersea & Islington have now begun to ease, this in part is due to the worsening economic landscape. Particularly as family home buyers are feeling the squeeze of increased living costs. We might see a slight correction in certain areas that have experienced a rapid rise in growth over the last 2-3 years.

RBKC has performed well this year so far, despite the lack of quality supply and the ongoing geopolitical situation. However, buyers have become more cautious and vendors remain resilient, which has resulted in an ever-widening gap between expectations.  Negotiations are taking much longer and this will likely impact the number of agreed deals £10m+ for the remainder of the year.

It’s no surprise that supply continues to be the main challenge across all areas and price points and, at this moment in time, there is no expectation for it to change anytime soon.