London’s stamp duty burden breaches £3bn, but prime borough portions slip

Overseas investors are bagging ginormous bargains on London property, as exchange rates effectively discount prices by up to 27%, according to the latest from Hamptons.

Emerging Prime areas in SW London continue to drive some of the best returns on investment, according to Douglas & Gordon, outstripping PCL for the third year on the bounce.

The average property price in prime central London breached £1.5m in 2013, hitting £1,543,102 at the end of November after "robust" but "unremarkable" annual growth of 12.