Serving central and south west London, we
see, at close quarters, how the extraordinary increases
in values in prime areas such as Chelsea and Holland Park
can affect
neighbouring districts. Londoners have traditionally taken
advantage of cyclical leaps in values to sell up and move
to a country house that would otherwise have been beyond
their means. Over the last year or more, residents of
Westminster and the RBK&C have been doing just that
– except that, instead of moving to Oxfordshire for
that large family house, they have had to look no further
than, say, Richmond. Seeing such continued capital gains,
other owners who have to move decide to do so without
selling, restricting supply (whilst increasing rental
availability). Meanwhile overseas investors, undeterred
by low yields and, ironically, encouraged by the prospect
of strengthening sterling, continue to buy new apartments.
The Grove, Isleworth £1,295,000
The rear part of The Grove
was home to a gardener to the
passionate botanist, Director of Kew Gardens and
President
of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks (1743 –
1820),
who circumnavigated the globe with Captain James
Cook. |
 |
|
The principal effect of all this, from our
perspective, has been to drive up prices in south west
London at an even faster rate than elsewhere in the Capital.
Great for those with the high value properties, this ‘trickle
down’ or ripple effect is less welcome for those
wishing to trade up substantially. It is of no help to
most first time buyers,
though a significant minority do have parents able and
willing to use their house equity to help them, complicating
the economics still further. Nevertheless, first time
buyers and those trading up are borrowing large sums these
days. As a result, whilst their ‘feel good factor’
appears almost as strong as ever and interest rates remain
historically low, the current backdrop of regular rate
increases has begun to hit home. This has tipped the balance
of power a little less in favour of sellers – but
not that much. Few properties remain on our books for
long and in some parts of London this summer was remarkably
busy. It does mean, though, that buyers are less liable
to panic themselves into a quick decision and it has led
to a noticeable decline in multiple bid and ‘sealed
offers by noon’ situations.
A greater measure of price sensitivity and wariness on
the part of buyers has also brought factors into the equation
that might otherwise have been overlooked. This might
be anything from service charges and maintenance issues
to – though we’re not going to be holding our
breath on this one – the energy rating given in a
Home Information Pack. One issue that has become more
sensitive in ‘the borderlands’ of central London
is on which side of a
borough line a property falls. Since February 2007, most
of Kensington & Chelsea has been included within the
Congestion Charge zone. This means that residents not
only qualify for a borough parking permit, allowing them
to park anywhere within it (for £105 pa), but also
qualify for the 90% discount on the Congestion Charge.
This makes residents of London’s most expensive borough
feel like the most empowered drivers in town – even
if it’s near impossible to find a parking space within
three streets of that high value home.
Above: Pimlico, £1.75 million
guide
Left: Wimbledon Village SW19, £750,000 guide
Below: Weybridge, £1.75 million guide |
