Prime Perspectives
Property Finders
See the current market through the eyes of six leading London Property Finders.
18th November 2025
Property Finders see the Prime London market from a unique vantage point. Working quietly but closely with buyers, they’re often the first to spot shifting preferences, emerging pockets of demand, and opportunities that never make it online to public facing portals.
For this edition of Prime Perspectives, we step into their day-to-day: what their buyers are asking for, how they’re navigating today’s market, and why LonRes remains a key part of how they source and secure the right homes. It’s an inside look at the people connecting serious buyers with the properties they’re searching for.
For this edition, we were joined by:
Hugh Obbard, Director at Obbard
Camilla Dell, Managing Partner & Founder at Black Brick Property Solutions
Hannah Aykroyd, Managing Director at Aykroyd & Co
Jazmin Atkins, Director at Atkins Property Search
Jeremy McGivern, Founder & Managing Director at Mercury Homesearch
Liam Monaghan, Managing Director at LCP / Private Office
The Market Backdrop
It will come as no surprise to our readers that the current market continues to present challenges. As highlighted in our latest Prime London Market Briefing, transaction levels in October were down 39.8% compared with the same month last year. Fall-throughs have also risen sharply, up almost 50% against the October average for 2017–19.
With this context in mind we asked the Property Finders what they are advising their clients at this moment in time.
“20 -25% nominal adjustment, adjusted for inflation 50% on ten years ago. It feels an opportunity and we are seeing that in our discussions with buyers overseas” – Hugh Obbard, Director at Obbard
How and What are Property Finders advising their clients?
In our conversations with these leading Property Finders, a consistent theme emerged: a growing sense of opportunity in today’s market. As Camilla Dell noted, “All the signs are pointing to us being at the end of the downcycle”.
Jeremy McGivern of Mercury Property Search echoed this sentiment, describing the current landscape as a buyer-led environment: “It’s a buyers’ market….
“…there are some good properties out there that can be bought at prices, that people would have killed you for in 2014 – 2016.”
For Hannah Aykroyd, confidence in the market extends beyond professional instinct. She and her husband purchased a home this year, having deliberately waited for the right moment.
Liam Monaghan of LCP Private Office, also agrees that the market offers value, but notes that the low number of transactions across prime central London highlights a clear disconnect between buyer and seller expectations. It’s an insight that may help explain the gap between the volume of properties going under offer and those ultimately reaching completion.
While advice will always depend on a buyer’s individual circumstances and objectives, one thing was clear from every conversation: for those with the means and motivation, this market presents opportunity.
So who are the buyers in the current market?
The reach of the Property Finders we spoke to spans the globe, advising clients from Australia to the UK and everywhere in between. Their briefs are equally diverse, from £1,000,000 family homes to large townhouses and penthouses purchased on behalf of UHNWIs.
A consistent theme across our conversations was the rise in US buyers. Many are looking to establish a base in the UK for political reasons or, as Jazmin Watkins observed, for “environmental migration”, with a growing number of American clients viewing London as a safe haven from natural disasters.
"They (American buyers) really value the environmental stability London provides" - Jazmin Watkins, Director at Atkins Property Search
What our recent Agent Survey revealed about buyer profile
As shown in the chart, responses closely reflected the outlook shared by the Property Finders. Across all regions, agents reported softer demand compared with last year, with only the USA and the Middle East standing out as markets where the majority of respondents were seeing stable or increased interest.
You can download the full Prime London Market Update here.
What advice would Property Finders give the Chancellor ahead of the Budget?
With the November 2025 Budget fast approaching, speculation is mounting across the industry about what it could mean for the property market. As part of our conversations, we asked the Property Finders what guidance they would offer the Chancellor if given the chance.
A common theme among almost every Property Finder was to reform the Stamp Duty Tax.
” It is so prohibitive to good healthy markets when you have such high Stamp Duty.” – Hannah Aykryod
The proposed “mansion tax”, which would introduce a levy on owners of properties valued at £2 million or more, applying an annual one per cent charge on the portion above that threshold, was also something many of the Property Finders strongly advised against.