Super-rich Russian and Middle-Eastern buyers are bucking the credit crunch by paying cash for multi-million pound homes in Kensington and Chelsea.

Top-end properties in the Royal Borough are still in demand as wealthy buyers take advantage of the weakening pound to snap up expensive pads, according to leading local estate agent Hogarth's.

Ronan McKenna, sales director of the Earls Court-based estate agent, says that while there has been a broad slowdown in house buying, the market in K&C is still "quite buoyant".

"The borough is one of the most desirable - and therefore expensive -places to live in the world," he adds. "People still want to be here and that's reflected in the price they are willing to pay. We recently sold a couple of properties for £1.5-2.5million - some for over the asking price. So it's really not all doom and gloom."

Cheaper properties in the borough, such as studio and one-bedroom flats, are more likely to be affected as lenders tighten their mortgage requirements and stifle the supply of buyers. Fears of a recession have also caused a slump in house prices, with potential buyers waiting to see how far house prices will fall before choosing to invest.

Latest figures from Hometrack, which charts the average house prices in London, reveal a 6.3 per cent fall in K&C since last August. The downturn is repeated for sellers across west London with homes Hammersmith & Fulham down 7.4 per cent and 3.8 per cent in Westminster.

But Mr McKenna is hopeful London will ride the storm, despite dire predictions this week from the Chancellor after a major recession.

"This year is going to be quite tough, but I think we're near a plateau in terms of price," he says. "With the 2012 Olympics around the corner we're going to see more development and buyers reaching back into their pockets."