Tag Archives: city
Belgrave Square named as having the most expensive homes in England and Wales
The streets of Belgravia and Knightsbridge in central London are the most expensive locations in England and Wales to buy a property, according to new research. Located in one of London's most prestigious areas in the heart of Belgravia between Hyde Park Corner and Belgrave Square, Grosvenor Crescent is the most expensive residential street, the research from Lloyds Bank shows. To acquire a typical Grade II listed house on Grosvenor Crescent will cost an average of £16,918,000, it reveals. Indeed, five of the 10 most expensive streets are in the prime residential areas of Belgravia and Knightsbridge in the City of Westminster. They include Eaton Square with an average property value of £15,520,000 and Chester Square at £8,282,000, both in Belgravia. This is followed by Trevor Street at £10,150,000 and Montpelier Street at £8,483,000 in the Knightsbridge area. The remaining four streets are in all in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. They include Cadogan Square with an average value of £8,592,000, Elgin Crescent at £7,683,000, Egerton Crescent at £7,100,000 and Hillsleigh Road at £7,091,000. Outside central London the capital's most desirable addresses are Cambridge Gate in Camden which has an average property value of £6,670,000, Coombe Park in Kingston upon Thames at £3,515,000 and Lichfield Road in Richmond upon Thames at £2,863,000. ‘London dominates the list of the most expensive residential addresses in England and Wales. As an international city, London has always attracted overseas buyers and in recent years the capital has been a magnet for ultra high net worth individuals,’ said Andy Hulme, mortgages director at Lloyds Bank. ‘This has led to soaring demand for homes in the prime residential areas of central London and as a result values have grown significantly. For the first time since this survey began, there are three streets with an average property price of over £10 million,’ he explained. ‘The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has always pulled in wealthy buyers, but this survey shows that properties in Belgravia and around Knightsbridge are now the ones commanding the highest prices,’ he added. Away from London the most expensive streets are both in Oxshott, Surrey; Spicers Field at £3,734,000 followed by Leys Road at £3,609,000. They are followed by Virginia Avenue in Virginia Water at £3,320,000 and Icklingham Road in Cobham at £3,264,000. A place near the sea has obvious attractions for many wealthy buyers and several exclusive addresses are dotted along the south coast. These streets include Sandbanks Road on Poole harbour at £2,493,000, Western Avenue also in Poole at £2,450,000 and Restrongeut Point in Truro at £2,097,000. The only address outside southern England in the top 50 most expensive streets is Park Lane in Altrincham with an average property price of £2,494,000, followed by South Road, also in Altrincham at £2,025,000. Other expensive addresses include Withinlee Road in Macclesfield at £1,960,000, The Ridgway in Leicester at £1,783,000, Tiddington Road in Stratford upon Avon at £1,313,000, Runnymede Road in Newcastle at… Continue reading
UK house prices back on track after September dip
UK house prices back on track after falling slightly in September dip with a 1.2% rise in October and up 7% annually, the latest published index shows. Growth of up to 5% is now predicted across UK in 2015 but the data from haart, the UK’s largest independent estate agent, with a network of over 200 branches, also shows that first time buyers are paying 8.1% more than a year ago. The latest rise takes the average annual house price to £204,247 but in London it is £501,561 with prices in the city up 18% year on year although monthly growth has slowed to 0.3%. The firm predicts UK property price growth between 3.5% and 5% in 2015 and in London up to 7% as 10 buyers chase each new property instruction across the country and 17 in London. ‘Although price growth is easing it is merely a market correction with all signals pointing to price rises of up to 5% across the UK next year. Savvy buyers and sellers would be wise to run with the window of opportunity that this creates now,’ said Paul Smith, chief executive officer of haart. He predicts that in the run up to the election next May it will be a case of ‘steady as she goes’ with little intervention from the government which thinks it has bigger fish to fry. However, he thinks this is short sighted. ‘Now is the time for some erudite analysis of the housing market by all political parties if we are to emerge post-election with renewed vigour. Supply of homes is the biggest issue affecting prices and until this is properly addressed, prices will continue to rise,’ he explained. The data also shows that the number of new buyers registering is down 12.3% annually and 2.4% on the month, but this must be seen in the context of the first six months of this year which were exceptionally busy with a renewed enthusiasm to buy driven by low interest rates and the availability of good mortgage deals. The number of properties for sale has dropped slightly annually, which again must be seen in context. The previous four months all saw an increase in the number of properties for sale. Overall demand remains strong across the UK. Again, with demand from first time buyers, there has been both an annual and a monthly fall in volumes by 17.2% and 3.6% respectively. First time buyers are putting down, on average, a deposit that is 4.4% lower than this time last year and the average LTV achieved is now 79.5% which is up from 78.7% last year. First time buyers are now taking out higher mortgages, at an average of £131,119, an 11.9% annual increase. Continue reading
One bedroom apartments in London see prices rising more than bigger flats
Property sales prices increased by an average of 4% across some key areas in London this year but there has been a slowdown overall, new research shows. Midtown, City and Docklands saw the price of one bedroom apartments rising by 7% compared with just 2% for two bedroom apartments, according to the bi-annual research from property advisors and development consultants Hurford Salvi Carr. The research also shows that the rental market picked up and recovered in the second half of 2014 with higher numbers of tenants registering and taking out new leases across Midtown, City and Docklands. Rent levels ended the year down 1% or largely unchanged over the year and the report explains that the upturn in the second half of the year coincides with a downturn in enquiries in the sales market across central London. It also shows that the average yield on a typical one bedroom apartment has now fallen to 4% with the yield of new homes averaging between 3% and 3.5%. Looking to 2015, the research indicates that there will be fewer properties being offered for sale in the first six months of next year. It is anticipated that confidence will remain weak in the sales market building up to the general election in May and prices of existing homes will remain unchanged, as owners across Midtown, City and Docklands are not highly geared or in the majority of cases have no borrowings and will not consider selling below full value. It is expected that the price of new homes up to £1 million will continue to sell at current levels and the price of new homes over £1 million may see asking prices fall by between 5% and 10% as the supply of new homes above £1 million is expected to increase in 2015. The research also indicates that residential rents will firm up in 2015 and will increase by 5%. If this happens, it will be the first time rents will have risen since 2010. Hurford Salvi Carr this week opened their new office on City Road, N1, expanding their network of offices to 5 across the City, City Fringes, Midtown and Docklands. Continue reading
