Surprise, surprise. The top 10 most expensive postcodes in England and Wales are all in London, analysis of Land Registry data has revealed.
The breakdown, conducted by prime property broker Jeffries James, shows that nine of these London postcodes are concentrated within three boroughs: Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and the City of London.
The exception is EN5, the 10th most expensive place to buy a property in England and Wales. Hertsmere, covering parts of Barnet and Enfield, is on the northern border of London, and encompasses areas like Hadley, home to former Spice Girl Emma Bunton. One Direction star Zayn Malik is also reported to have purchased a home in the area in 2012.
W1
W1 postcodes, which cover Mayfair, Fitzrovia, Soho and Marylebone, make up three of the country’s top 10 priciest postcodes.
England and Wales’ most expensive postcode is W1B, where the median property price is £4.375 million. This spans a narrow strip of land which runs from Piccadilly Circus up Regent Street towards Regent’s Park. It includes Park Crescent, with its John Nash-designed regency architecture, and the exclusive Regent’s Crescent development, with 67 Grade I-listed apartments and nine garden villas.
Portland Place, also in the W1B postcode, is home to some of the country’s most expensive properties too, including an 11-bedroom, 20,987 square foot home currently on the market for £65 million with Sotheby’s International Realty.
W1K is the second-most expensive postcode on the list, with homes costing an average of £3.65 million. This covers the north side of Mayfair and Grosvenor Square, along with upmarket addresses like Audley Square, South Audley Street and Stanhope Gate. Audley Square, for example, is home to London’s most expensive residential development 1 Mayfair, where prices will start at £35 million.
Recent properties to have hit the market on Grosvenor Square, meanwhile, include the former home of Countess Raine Spencer, Princess Diana’s stepmother, which was sold for £10 million in October. In 2023, a five-bedroom apartment which was once home to a group of Le Mans racing car drivers known as The Bentley Boys sold for £16.1 million.
W1J is ranked as the fourth-priciest postcode in England and Wales, with homes costing £2,675,100 on average. Spanning the south of Mayfair and Piccadilly, it includes Ashburton Place, a ‘new’ road behind the Clarges Mayfair development, and Berkeley Square.
Postcode |
Average price (median) |
Location |
W1B |
£4,375,000 |
Westminster |
W1K |
£3,650,000 |
Westminster |
SW1X |
£2,800,000 |
Kensington and Chelsea |
W1J |
£2,675,100 |
Westminster |
SW1H |
£2,550,000 |
Westminster |
SW1E |
£2,325,000 |
Westminster |
EC3A |
£2,200,000 |
City of London |
EC2M |
£2,200,000 |
City of London |
WC2R |
£2,000,000 |
Westminster |
EN5 |
£1,875,000 |
Hertsmere |
SW1
SW1 postcodes are also well-represented amongst London’s top 10 most expensive addresses.
The capital’s third-most expensive postcode is SW1X, in Kensington and Chelsea. Knightsbridge has always been a prestigious address, and it has become more so in recent years thanks to the development of several super prime residential developments, including the Candy brothers’ £1.2 billion One Hyde Park, where Nick Candy’s penthouse apartment is currently on sale for £175 million.
In SW1H and SW1E, close to Buckingham Palace, the average property costs £2,550,000 and £2,325,000 respectively. Last year, the £45 million Buckingham Gate in SW1E was the most-viewed property on Rightmove. Spread over 15,845 square feet, it has a lift to all floors, cinema, gym, indoor pool, treatment room and views of Buckingham Palace.
Other top postcodes
EC3A and EC2M are both in the City of London and contain mostly commercial buildings, as well as some private homes. EC3A runs towards Aldgate, covering The Gherkin and Leadenhall, while EC2M includes Broadgate, Liverpool Street and Finsbury Circus.
The average property in both postcodes costs £2,200,000.
The country’s ninth most-expensive postcode is WC2R, which runs along Strand towards Temple. Here, properties cost an average of £2 million.
Outside of London
Outside of the capital, the country’s most expensive postcodes are all close by, with areas in the home counties well represented. Some of the highest sold prices over the last year have been found across HA6 in Three Rivers (£1.22m), BR6 in Sevenoaks (£1.155m), HP9 in Buckinghamshire (£950,000) and SM2 in Sutton and Banstead (£915,050).
The furthest postcodes from London to register amongst the nation’s most expensive are SO42 in New Forest (£832,500), TR17 in Cornwall (£760,000) and TQ8 in South Hams (£706,250).
“London has always led the way when it comes to prime market property values and the city is not only home to the most desirable and expensive properties in the nation, but it’s one of the most attractive for the wealthiest buyers on the global stage,” says Damien Jeffries, founder of Jeffries James.
“Of course, whilst an average sold price north of £4 million may be eye-watering to the average buyer, the reality is that the most expensive transactions happening across the prime London market tend to take place behind closed doors.
“Such is the influence of the London market, that even when looking at the most expensive postcodes outside of the city, you needn’t look far, with the rest of the nation’s most prestigious postcodes all found within arm’s reach of the capital.”
