Realistic pricing is key in the prime Central London property market, particularly in the family house sales market according to W A Ellis.

International interest in London continues in spite of rising stamp duty costs as the capital remains a safe place to invest. Continue reading →

Tenants are seeking to move to the peripheries of prime Central London, primarily zones 2 and 3, in search of lower budget properties as they attempt to minimise outgoings, reports Cluttons in its Residential Property Forecasts – Q2 2013. 

Average weekly rents of £1,016 in prime Central London remain broadly unchanged from this time last year, but the volume of applicants with higher budgets is in decline, a trend which is expected to persist over the coming months. Continue reading →

Half of all adults surveyed in London would like to buy a new home to live in (be that a first or subsequent home) in the next 2-3 years, according to findings by the Council of Mortgage Lenders based on a survey undertaken by YouGov.

In the longer term, 75% of adults currently living in London would like to own their own home in 10 years time, a slightly lower proportion than in Great Britain overall where 79% of individuals indicated a longer term preference for home ownership. Continue reading →

The value of penthouses currently being sold in London now exceeds £1billion, according to research from CBRE.

The report, “Penthouse London: paying a premium for perfection”, is CBRE’s first in-depth study of the London penthouse market, which has soared in value since the prime residential market began to recover from the global property crash. Continue reading →

Property values in prime areas of London have increased by a substantial 12.8% in the past year, following a rise of 3.6% during the first quarter of 2013, according to estate agent Marsh & Parsons’ latest London Property Monitor.

But it is actually the areas of Non-Central Prime London that have experienced the most dramatic growth, as a relative lack of supply pushes buyers and investors further afield. Continue reading →

Values rose by 2.3% during the first quarter, taking the annualised increase to 6.8%, just ahead of the long run average of 6.7% per annum.

Consequently, the average price of a flat in prime Central London breached the £1 million mark for the first time, while the average price for prime residential property as a whole reached a new historic high of £1.53 million in Q1, leaving prices 6.1% above the previous market peak of Q3 2007. This translates to an average increase of £383 per day.

The best performing London region was Central North West, incorporating St John’s Wood, Hampstead, Maida Vale, Continue reading →

“Fulham in particular has always been a popular area of South West London, but as house prices soar in Prime Central London, it has become even more attractive as an alternative for buyers in search of the PCL lifestyle at a more affordable price – on average a property in Fulham is likely to cost £850 per sq. ft. – whereas in PCL it is over double this at an average  £1800 per sq. ft. As such, we’re seeing an incredibly strong demand, with several properties going to sealed bids.
 
“Fulham’s appeal can be attributed to a number of factors; Continue reading →

Some of the other expensive streets in the Royal Borough include: Campden Hill Crescent with an average property price of £4,863,000, Blenheim Crescent (£4,728,000), Lansdowne Road (£4,693,000), Drayton Gardens (£4,428,000) and Eaton Square (£4,391,000).

Not all of the most expensive streets are in central London. Parkside in Merton, South West London, is the nation’s second most valuable address with an average house price of £5,161,000. Home Park Road, also in Merton, is the sixth most expensive street with an average property price of £4,685,000.

Away from the capital, the most expensive streets are in the leafy areas of Surrey, Hertfordshire and Kent. They Continue reading →

London has experienced explosive growth in recent years, with prices rising by 24% since 2009 and central London seeing even higher appreciation of 47% over the same period. This growth has seen the disparity between the city and other regions growing, with the average detached house in London now costing 75% more than one in the South-East of England.

Central London growth has come largely from a combination of demand from overseas investors looking for a liquid safe-haven for their capital and foreign professionals moving to London for work. The rise in prices in the centre of the city has led to Continue reading →

This, in turn, should lead to fewer ‘price reductions’ which have been very apparent towards the latter part of 2012.

“In the early part of 2013, we anticipate some restructuring and transferring of ownership due to the proposed annual charge and introduction of CGT on property priced at £2m and above and owned by ‘non-natural persons’. Investors would prefer to pay the 7% stamp duty on a transaction rather than the annual charge and have a CGT liability.  We also believe that the Chancellor may introduce an exemption for British development companies and landed estates in his Autumn Statement on 5th December; Continue reading →