Why the Russians want Mayfair

Super-rich Russians are back buying up luxury property in Mayfair and central London. But why?

In a new piece for The Times this week, Black Brick Founder and top London buying agent, Camilla Dell shared her perspective on why Russians are increasingly looking to invest in prime central London property.

“[Black Brick buying agency] has had a 22 per cent increase in the number of Russians buying in central London this year compared with last.”, Camilla revealed.

“The Russians have been our biggest spenders, paying an average of £18.5 million for their properties. They have been buying homes in prime central London, with a preference for Mayfair and Kensington. Their reasons for buying are relocating to London for family, better quality of life, safety and education. Brexit has not been a factor, although currency has,” she said.

Commons, good schools and cosy gastropubs means families stay put in SW4

Clapham has been described as “a south London suburb that has welcomed wave upon wave of migration from other boroughs”, in a new article this week.

Sharing our perspective into its growing property market, Black Brick buying agent, Caspar Harvard-Walls featured his thoughts in City A.M.

“[Clapham] is a very diverse area, from maisonettes and flats for around £600,000 to period family houses that command from £4m around the edge of the Common. Indeed, an original 9,000sqft Georgian villa is currently available for £12m.” Caspar shared.

Developers appeal to culture vultures by building theatres right next door to home

Arts hubs and theatres are being built in areas in the hopes of attracting home buyers looking for neighborhoods with a sense of community.

Sharing her thoughts in a new piece for The Telegraph this week, Black Brick Founder and Managing Partner, commented:

“Such venues transform the interesting into the highly desirable. Television Centre is generally regarded as one of the coolest and hippest new developments,” she said.

Read the full article here.

Camden named amongst top five property investment hotspots, but London prime property market remains hard to predict

Camden has been revealed as fourth in a list of property investment hotspots across the UK, a new article in Ham & High Property reveals.

With house prices in the area expected to rise by 33.9% in the next five years, our Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared her thoughts for the article released this week.

“I would say [this] is quite a simplistic way of looking at the market because the London property market is not homogenous; different parts of the market will behave and do very different things in the next five years,” she said.

“Savills are actually predicting Prime Central London growth of 21 per cent over the next five years cumulative, so quite a bit more than what Barclays’ price predictor is showing. Knight Frank are suggesting that east London will increase far more than more traditional west London and Prime Central London postcodes. So there’s quite a big discrepancy in their data.”

Camilla continued by explaining why she is less convinced that Camden will perform better than other London regions: “I’ve seen lots of research around HS2, Crossrail 2, east London because of all the technology companies investing there but I can’t say I’ve come across anything that says Camden is a hotspot,” she said. “Instead, I think that the most growth will be seen in the market below £1m, outside Prime Central London. “That’s where we see the most growth happening over the next five years where we still continue to see supply and demand in balance and first time buyers competing with investors.”

Sealed bids and gazumping return to central London in boost for property market

London buying agents have revealed how an increasing number of clients have been looking for ‘Brexit bargains’ in recent weeks.

Covered in a new article in The Standard, Black Brick Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell offered her thoughts as one of London’s most renowned buying agents for prime property in London:

“We are seeing a return of competitive bidding across the spectrum, particularly on property that is priced correctly in line with the current market.”, she shared.

“We have also seen a return of gazumping. We recently secured a flat in Canary Wharf for a client at £1.48 million. Our initial offer of £1.44 million was accepted but we were gazumped by another buyer who offered £1.5 million. Luckily, we managed to re-agree the sale at the original asking price as our client was a cash buyer.”

Yes, you can have a ‘glam room’ like Melania

Homes with a dedicated room for doing makeup, nails and getting dressed are increasingly becoming a must-have for high-end property buyers in the UK.

Discussing this latest trend in the market for a new piece in The Times, our Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared her thoughts as top London buying agent for super-prime property.

“[I have] viewed homes with not only glam rooms, but glam suites, where a separate lounge area containing a minibar and TV is located off a dressing room, so all the girls can discuss and debate outfits”, she revealed.

Read the full article here.

Ten places where house prices are set to rise

Some UK neighbourhoods seem to be “defying a downbeat Brexit market”, a new article in The Times this week has revealed.

Offering our perspective as a top London buying agency for luxury property, Black Brick’s Founder, Camilla Dell shared her thoughts on which regions’ house prices are due to rise.

“With 10,000 new homes, 5,000 more on the cards and the possibility of a Crossrail 2 station, [Tottenham Hale, north London] is the London suburb du jour”, she said.

Read the full article here.

Donald Trump will be US president but there is no sign of panicked exodus to London

Whilst there had been a lot of apprehension that Donald Trump’s potential presidency would drive many Americans over to the UK, there currently is little sign of that happening…

In a new piece for International Business Times, Black Brick’s Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell, shared her thoughts on the US election’s impact London property:

“After the election, [Black Brick] likely to see some wealthy US citizens, particularly those most offended by Trump, move to the UK as some of our American clients hinted to us prior to this outcome.”, she said.

Read the full article here.

The forecast for the prime London market? That depends on which part…

“Forecast season may be upon us, but headline figures are of little use in the micro-markets of prime London”, Camilla Dell shared in Prime Resi this week.

As an esteemed buying agent for property in prime central London, Black Brick’s Founder, Camilla Dell was invited to share her views on what the future may hold for the market in coming years, sharing her insights for a new piece in Prime Resi.

Read the full article here.

Black Brick’s Camilla Dell: Newbuild property in central London faces substantial price cuts

Our Founder, Camilla Dell has been featured in International Business Times this week to share her thoughts on London’s current prime property market.

In the piece, Camilla said that, in reaction to recent market movements, Black Brick has been “very cautious on the newbuild segment, which we think is still the most vulnerable part of the market. Some parts of London are flooded with supply and we’re likely to see properties offered with substantial discounts.”

Read the full article here.