While the nation is mired in the biggest cost of living squeeze since the 1950s, Richmond borough is suffering a shortage of homes in the £2m-£10m price bracket.

The details are included in the latest Prime Central London Buyer Demand Index by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves.

The index is based on a measurement of the proportion of homes in property hot spots listed with Rightmove and Zoopla that are identified as sold.

These put the figure for the Richmond area at 43.8% with the figure for Barnes 43.6%, which suggests those with more than £2m to spend are struggling to find what they want.

£3.5m – six-bed semi-detached in Barnes. Credit: Savills.

The Richmond figure is up by 7.4 percentage points in the first three months of this year compared to the last three of 2022, while the figure for Barnes is up by 5.8 percentage points.

The statistics suggest that only Islington has a higher proportion of properties in the £2m-£10m listed with online estate agents that are already sold at 45.9%.

The same study found demand has eased in other areas. For example the proportion of homes in this price bracket listed as sold is down by 14.2 percentage points in Chiswick to 37.5%, while there has been a fall of 10.2 percentage points in Wimbledon to 34.7%.

£2.3m home Hampton. Credit: Dexters.

Premium properties currently on the market in this price bracket include a four bed end of terrace house in Barnes at £3m, a six-bed semi-detached in Barnes at £3.5m, a five-bed detached in Richmond for £3m and a detached family home in Hampton at £2.3m.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that house prices in the borough are unaffordable for most typical residents.

It said the median cost of home is an astonishing 20.7 times the annual salary earned – at £768,000 versus £37,041.

The situation was only worse in terms of property affordability in the central London boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster.