Knight Frank marks record year for new homes

Knight Frank’s London New Homes team has ended the year on a record-breaking high, following a successful run of sales over the past 12 months.

Some of the new launches of 2022 include the Chelsea Botanica, Knight Frank’s fastest-selling scheme of 2022 and Capella, the last residential building at King’s Cross.

Overall, the property consultancy and agency brand exchanged £855m worth of new home sales from January 2022 to December 2022 - a 35.6% annual increase.

Strong buyer interest and the end of Help-to-Buy were described as the key drivers of the new homes market throughout the year, with boomerang buyers returning to London and hybrid office/home work life in full force post-Covid.

This in turn created a huge urban resurgence in areas such as Canary Wharf, aided by the now fully functional Elizabeth line, where the firm achieved more than 55 sales worth more than £82m, Knight Frank said.

Raul Cimesa, head of London new homes at Knight Frank, said: “I am extremely proud of the success achieved by our industry-leading new homes team despite the various headwinds we have seen throughout the year.  

“We have shown incredible resilience in an ever-challenging market, whilst the events from the past two months have increased the cost of financing and debt, I remain confident that London’s credentials as a global city and a financial hub, grouped with outstanding education opportunities will ensure that next year will be equally successful with the exciting new instructions that we will be launching across various parts of London.

“Looking ahead, the Knight Frank London new homes team is optimistic that the strong rental markets, strong buyer demand and the launch of several new schemes will continue to inject confidence into London’s residential new homes market in 2023.”