The prime residential market has continued to slow following buyers’ lack of urgency, according to a Savills report.

Results showed that price growth in prime markets in London had only grown a mere average of 0.5 per cent in Q3 this year, where the reason given pointed towards lack of urgency amongst buyers from market uncertainty.

The uncertainty was reported to possibly have been down to issues arising over the last quarter, such as the Scottish referendum and mansion tax debates.

This has resulted in a fall in new buyer enquiries, and a slowdown of the mainstream housing market.

However, it was shown that prime North and East London have proved the most resilient to the slump.

Prime North West London figures showed that quarter on quarter, house price growth was rising by 1.2 per cent, 0.8 per cent higher than figures from Prime Central London. Figures from Prime East of London were the highest quarter on quarter, at 1.9 per cent growth.

Islington, Canary Wharf and Wapping were seen as the “most resilient”, where they saw growth in double figures in the first three quarters of the year.

Annual price growth in prime markets such as Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Chelsea have slowed in the last three months down to an average of 3.3 per cent, where less expensive areas such as Notting Hill and Kensington have shown a steady growth of 1 per cent, with a year-on-year growth totalling 10 per cent.

The report from Savills stated that interest rate rises and pre-election debates on mansion tax could further hinder house price growth over the next year.

The report stated: “It now seems certain that the spectre of interest rate rises and pre-election rhetoric around a mansion tax will suppress the potential for further growth over the next 12 months, even though the underlying fundamentals of the market remain sound.

“However, in the press at least, there does appear to be an increasing realisation that as tax loopholes have been closed and rates of tax increased, that there is much less of a case for an unwieldy Mansion Tax.”