# Prime property, slow sales: why London’s stock of empty high-end flats is piling up

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/prime-property-slow-sales-why-londons-stock-of-empty-high-end-flats-is-piling-up/
- Published: 2026-11-11T06:00:30+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T06:36:39+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/nov/11/property-london-empty-high-end-flats-developers
- Topics: Business, Markets, Software, Technology

## Key points

- Central London has 1,400 completed homes awaiting buyers.
- Construction starts in zone 1 have fallen 75% in a decade.
- Costs and weaker demand are squeezing developers.

## Summary

London has a growing stock of completed luxury flats that developers have been unable to sell, as demand from wealthy buyers weakens. Rising construction and borrowing costs, alongside uncertainty over property taxes, are making new high-end projects harder to justify and putting pressure on developers.

In central London’s zone 1, 1,400 completed homes remained unsold at the end of September, three times the 2016 figure, while starts fell 75% over the decade to 1,600 in the past year. Some firms have collapsed: London Richmond entered administration with more than 300 creditors owed £39m, while Ardmore Construction owed more than £29m as of September. Overseas buyers have also been deterred by tax changes, including stamp duty of up to 19% on additional properties.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.