Tag Archives: french
Number of London homes worth over a million set to rise by 47% by 2018
The number of London house sales breaking the £1 million price barrier is expected to rise by 47% by 2018, according to new analysis from international property adviser, Savills. It means a further expansion of a market that has grown by 165% in the past five years. In 2003, just 1,825 £1 million plus sales were recorded by the Land Registry, a figure that rose to 7,529 last year. By 2018, the annual total is expected to exceed 11,000, in response to forecast price rises and means that more locations in the Greater London area will qualify as prime property area. According to calculations from Savills, annual turnover in London’s £1 million plus market has risen by 312% over the past decade and is forecast to record a 505% increase in the 15 years from 2003 to 2018. During the same period, prime London house prices are expected to have risen by 160%, evidence both of the rising prosperity in the capital and the geographical expansion of the prime market. A decade ago just over half of sales worth £1 million or more were concentrated in just two central boroughs, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, with 569 and 370 sales respectively. Last year, while these two central boroughs still accounted for a third of this high value market place, four other boroughs of Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden and Richmond upon Thames, each saw more than 500 £1 million plus sales recorded by the Land Registry. Only two of London’s 33 boroughs, Barking and Dagenham and Newham, did not see any £1 million plus sales recorded by the Land Registry in 2013. Three other boroughs, Croydon, Waltham Forest and Bexley, recorded fewer than 10 such sales at nine, three and two respectively. But even in the highest value areas of these five boroughs average values were between £275,000 and £390,000. ‘In the past five years, we have seen £1 million sales increasingly extend into areas such as Acton, Dalston, Herne Hill, Tooting Bec and Blackheath. In the next five years such sales are expected to become significantly more concentrated in emerging locations such as Streatham, Kingston, Borough and Northwood,’ said Lucian Cook, head of UK residential research at Savills. ‘The majority of locations where we expect to see the emergence of £1 million-plus sales in the next five years neighbour existing prime areas. Areas such as Earlsfield, Brixton and Wanstead should see a greater proliferation of the £1 million price tag, which is also expected to begin to appear in such locations as Crystal Palace to the south, Southgate to the north and Isleworth and Osterley to the west,’ he added. The Savills research also identifies the emergence of a third ‘wealth corridor’, running south east via Dulwich and Bromley, as wealth flows out from more central locations, boosting house prices along its route. ‘Much of the growth in £1 million-plus sales will be organic, driven… Continue reading
Number of foreign buyers in Paris region rises as French look to Spain
Foreign buyers are increasingly snapping up properties in and around Paris with new figures showing they account for almost one in 10 sales. In the three districts that make up the Ile de France some 9.2% of buyers were from overseas, the first time such a number of sales has been seen for 15 years. The figures from real estate group Bien, said that there has been a big shift in where buyers are coming from. Italian, Chinese, Algerian and Portuguese buyers make up the bulk of sales to overseas buyers. But overall the number of foreign buyers has remained stable with fewer French people buying homes in the region, according to the firm. In Paris itself, some 8.3% of buyers this year have been foreign nationals, with the figure rising to 11.2% in the Inner Ring and dropping to 7.5% in the Outer Ring. Four years ago, foreigners made up just 6.3% of the sales total in the region. Italians accounted for the largest foreign group in Paris, with 17% of sales. Chinese buyers dominated the foreign market in the Inner Ring with 22.2% of sales while Portuguese buyers came out tops in the Outer Ring at 29%. It is not a case of foreign buyers moving to France. The data shows that some 90% of these buyers were already resident in the Paris region. Meanwhile, another report suggests that the French are buying more property in Spain. Some 18.2% of foreign buyers in Spain are French and 51% of enquiries are within an hour’s drive of Spain, according to the latest data from Spanish property portal Kyero. It means that the French are now the second largest group of foreign buyers of Spanish property. British buyer are still top at 54.5 and in third place is Germans at 7.5%. A multitude of economic factors over the past year have encouraged more and more French buyers into Spain, according to Martin Dell, Kyero director. ‘With the French property market looking pretty flat, many are casting their eyes further south in search of holiday home bargains that can satisfy both investment and lifestyle requirements,’ he explained. ‘Property in Spain is incredibly cheap right now and for French buyers, being part of the Euro, means that the headache of currency exchange is removed from the purchase process,’ he said, adding that the north of Spain is particularly popular due to it being easily accessible. Kyero figures show that Girona, just 55 minutes' drive from France accounted for 51% of enquiries, followed by Castellon at 46%, Tarragona at 29% and Cantabria at 25%. Continue reading
Talking To Top International Perfumers
By Janetta Mackay 9:16 AM Wednesday Oct 16, 2013 Janetta Mackay talks to two renowned perfumers who collaborated successfully before finding their own fragrance fame. Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian. In the 10 years since they created a hit fragrance together, perfumers Francis Kurkdjian and Christine Nagel have each separately reinforced their standing as leading international “noses” with stellar solo careers. Both products of the tradition-steeped but commercially demanding French perfume industry, their innovative approaches have a boutique style that sets them apart. Their names are linked professionally as co-creators of the distinctively musky top-selling Narciso Rodriguez For Her perfume, but each has an impressive solo resume and a unique approach to their craft. Kurkdjian found early fame at age 25 when he created Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier. He became a “go-to guy” for many luxury brands, among them Dior, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Ferragamo, most recently creating Elie Saab’s first fragrance. He has also opened his own bespoke boutique brand, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, in Paris and worked on art installations, including creating giant perfume bubbles spotlighted for public exposition at Versailles and in Shanghai. He combines artistry and accessibility, having also crafted Elizabeth Arden’s perennially popular Green Tea spritz and a shelf full of men’s top selling colognes including Joop, Kouros Sport, Davidoff Silver Shadow and, more recently, Rocawear for Jay Z’s company. He has reworked the classics for Acqua di Palma and bottled modern cool for Juliette Has a Gun. Christine Nagel’s newest fragrance, Si, for Giorgio Armani, is about to launch in New Zealand and, judging by sales overseas, seems destined to be another standout. Hers is the name behind a string of designer fragrances, including Miss Dior Cherie, Dolce & Gabbana’s The One and commissions for Kenzo, Lagerfeld, Lancome, Mugler and more. In recent years she has been busiest as master perfumer for the ever-so-English company Jo Malone, helping broaden its global reach. Like Kurkdjian, she is in her 40s, still relatively young for a perfumer. As their answers to Viva’s questions show, the pair’s working connection may have been brief, but the passion they share for perfumery seems set to ensure enduring excellence. Perfumer Christine Nagel. CHRISTINE NAGEL Do you have a signature style? I have the desire to look for new accords, new associations of ingredients. For [Jo Malone] Peony & Blush Suede, the peony flower does not exist as a natural essence in perfumery. This is where a poetic fragrant vision comes into play. The peony essence in Peony & Blush Suede is unique to Jo Malone London as it is my own interpretation, as a woman and a perfumer, of an English peony. The Jo Malone London collaboration runs to about 20 fragrances now, how is it evolving? I consider myself the olfactory instrument of the brand. I always take into consideration the values of the brand and create scents that connect with its philosophies and values. Even if the fragrances are from different families – fruity, woody, floral – there is the same philosophy. The brand has a real style and the fragrances are easily identifiable. I am extremely happy to create fragrances for it. Do you have a favourite Jo Malone London creation? English Pear & Freesia, one of my earlier creations, is a beautiful, light and refreshing fragrance. The newest addition, Peony & Blush Suede, is a very special fragrance to make, taking over two years to create. This fragrance is elegant and sophisticated. What is the fragrance you would have loved to have created? Feminite du Bois by Shiseido is a fragrance I admire; there is so much femininity infused in those woods. How do think women should approach the appreciation of fragrance? Fragrance to me is an aromatic message we send to everybody who has not yet perceived us. Therefore you have to feel at one with your fragrance . . . at this point, you are charming, appealing, seductive. In perfumery, there has been a return to authenticity, to fragrances with an asserted femininity. Once you have decided on a [fragrance] family that suits your style, spend time getting to know the scents to find your distinctive scent combination. Francis Kurkdjian. FRANCIS KURKDJIAN Is perfumery art, craft or a combination? I live my metier as an art. It is an “endless question” whether modern perfume-making is art, craft or business. No matter what, as a perfumer, you need the art of science and the science of the art. What matters to me above all are the emotions I have when I create and the pleasure I give to people who appreciate my work. What is your earliest olfactory memory? I have a lot. My grandmother used to wear Femme by Rochas. I recall the scent of my grandfather’s aftershave lotion he used to blend himself and of my grandparents’ apartments. My father used colognes at night only. The first time I smelled fresh-cut grass is something I remember still. The fragrance you wished you had created? Fougere Royale by Houbigant, the first fragrance that mixed natural and synthetic molecules in 1882. Is there a fragrance note you consider a signature? Notes/ingredients are my vocabulary. My technique is my grammar. Overall, I think my style is about balance and sensuality. I am a storyteller, using scents. In terms of a trademark I may have, it’s always difficult to have enough distance to be able to analyse. I do not know if my style has evolved over the years. I have always been a huge fan of essentials [oils]. Each ingredient must have its position and its reason to be in. Less is definitely more in fragrance-making; however, you have to be careful not to be anorexic. The scent has to be big enough and have a nice, appealing trail/aura. I have tried to touch all kind of fragrance families to cover the biggest olfactory spectrum possible. What is the costliest ingredient you have used and how does it deliver? The most expensive ingredient is orris root absolute (the root of the iris flower). It costs about €$75,000 per kilo. I have used orris in my latest fragrance, Amyris for woman and Amyris for man. The most exotic? Think about a lavender field under the sky of Provence, France, or blooming orange tree flowers in Sicily overlooking the Mediterranean, women hand-picking rosebuds in Iran or Bulgaria when the sun rises in May. To be honest, I do believe each of the natural raw materials I use in my fragrances is exotic. The last I have used is oud oil or agarwood oil, a natural raw material that comes from the south Far East. I have used it in one of my latest works, named OUD, as a tribute to this extravagant, extraordinary ingredient. Do you discern any particular emerging trends in modern fragrance styles? Trend is not something I look at as I work at least 18 months ahead of a launch for my own house and sometimes it’s 24 months for other brands. So by the time the trend comes, I am already working on another fragrance and I have moved on to something else. However, right now there is a comeback on very sexy, glamour and feminine fragrances. Couture fragrances are back to the prestige market while celebrities’ fragrances remain popular. Any advice you would like to share? Perfume is not a beauty product. It is not lipstick, mascara or a nail polish. Perfume is not even a product because perfume is invisible. So let it lead you by the emotion of what you smell and experience. Read about perfumer Christine Nagel’s work with Giorgio Armani here. – VIVA Continue reading
