Prime Central London property outperforms other investments over the last 30 years

If you had invested £100 in prime central London property 30 years ago, your notional stake would now be worth £575.
Written By:
Tom Bill, Knight Frank
2 minutes to read
Categories: Residential Sales UK

That performance beats a range of other asset classes over the same time period, as the graph shows.

While prime London property prices have tailed off in recent years in response to tax changes and political uncertainty, the data underlines the fact that residential property is a good long-term store of value.

With prices having largely adjusted to higher taxes, the market is poised to strengthen, although political uncertainty is keeping activity in check.

The chart also underlines residential property’s relative lack of volatility. Oil prices spiked and fell during the global financial crisis and silver did the same during the US government debt-ceiling crisis of 2011. Meanwhile, equity prices have seen recent volatility, with a strong Q1 this year following a poor Q4 in 2018.

Farmland came in second place over the 30-year period, thanks in part to its status as a real asset.

"In a world of uncertainty farmland offers investors a real sense of tangibility and prices have been climbing steadily for the past five decades, to the extent that they are now relatively divorced from the productive capability of the land, The uncertainty surrounding Brexit has dampened the ardour of buyers and vendors somewhat, but prices remain at historically high levels."

_Andrew Shirely, Head of Rural Research,

Meanwhile, collectible items completed the top five.

"Before it was a case of researching and building a collection, almost as an academic pursuit. Now collectors want high-quality pieces that make a lifestyle statement. In the case of furniture, ‘designer’ pieces started to take over from ‘brown furniture’ about 15 years ago which explains why mid-century modern furniture has performed well over the last 30 years. While stamps also did well, growth has tailed off in recent years and antique jewellery will always remain reasonably in fashion as something wearable to show off."

_Seb Duthy, Director of Art Market Research,

Definitions:

Modern Furniture is Early to Mid-20th Century

Stamps are Great Britain Classics