Format: Print

Agents braced for months of Brexit uncertainty and confusion

The property market is bracing itself for, at best, uncertainty and confusion, and at worst a white knuckle ride after yesterday’s High Court ruling that MPs must vote on triggering Article 50.

Yesterday, as the BBC reported on the possibility of a constitutional crisis, the pound rose in value while speculation grew that Theresa May will call a snap general election.

Ladbrokes slashed its odds on a general election next year to 2/1.

Spicerhaart  boss Paul Smith told EYE: “Yesterday’s government defeat by the High Court regarding whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU is unwelcome news for the residential property market.

“This decision will elongate the process of Britain leaving the European Union reigniting cause for a lack of confidence among buyers, sellers and house-builders.

“It cannot be emphasised enough how much the residential property market is reliant on confidence, and as we currently see a market that is suffering from almost record low transactions levels, especially in the capital, it is now more important than ever that clarity is provided.

“What we need to see is a quick, clean break from the EU, rather than dragging out the process which yesterday’s ruling may now do. Britons have voted to be free of the EU, and their wishes should be respected with a clear exit strategy.

“Our property market has in the past proved robust, and bounced back in terms of adversity. However guarantees of future stability would certainly not go amiss.”

Smith also warned MPs not to abuse their votes. He said: “The people have decided on Brexit and Parliament should not stand in the way of the will of the people. Brexit means Brexit.”

Another industry figure warned that agents will “see the price of Brexit in their bottom lines”.

Property pundit and buying agent Henry Pryor yesterday told EYE: “Markets hate uncertainty so this will result in more people putting their moves on hold whilst they await clarity – something that is unlikely to come in the short term.

“Turnover and prices are sure to come under pressure, but the good news for agents is that more people will want advice rather than just process which should mean more pitches. Key to converting this into income will be to provide reassurance.

“Most home movers are trading so absolute prices are not essential if what they want to buy is cheaper. The best agents will inspire confidence and clients will respect and pay for this.

“Longer term I expect that we are all going to see the price of Brexit in our bottom line figures.

“Deals will be harder to do, harder to hold together and harder to get paid for.

“Service rather than process will count, I expect, as consumers come to appreciate that selling or letting, buying or renting, isn’t just a case of sticking something up online and processing the resulting interest.

“Whether you voted remain or leave, you are about to witness one of the more memorable episodes in the housing market and some will not cope well.

“There will be arguments, sharp practice, ill-mannered discourse, but the best firms will win out because they deliver something that the public wants and will pay for.”

More upbeat was Glynis Frew, managing director of Hunters Property Group, who said: “This decision could bring further uncertainty to the country, and a period of stability would be welcomed by the business world. However, at the end of the day the property market is essentially driven by lifestyle factors: people will continue to get married, relocate for new jobs and start families, whether Brexit goes ahead or not.

“These lifestyle changes bring with them a need to move house and therefore create churn in the market. In addition , yesterday’s announcement to hold interest rates steady is welcome news for the property sector. ”

Camilla Dell, of London buying agency Black Bricks, said: “Yesterday’s outcome will likely delay the triggering of Article 50, thus creating an even longer period of uncertainty, which isn’t helpful for sellers or buyers.

“However, the fact that Parliament needs to vote, may also mean a less harsh Brexit takes place in order to get the vote through.

“In the long run, I don’t believe it means we aren’t leaving the EU. We will be leaving, but perhaps not as quickly or as aggressively as the prime minister had hoped.”

Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker, said: “We didn’t know when Article 50 would be triggered before, and after yesterday’s court case we still don’t know.

“On a positive note, it is good news that formal exit negotiations with the EU will be properly debated, as they should be.

“On the other hand, a further hearing is expected later this month and because the ruling is likely to go back to appeal, we can’t really comment on the potential impact at the moment. Our forecast for UK house price growth in 2016 is 5%, and we are predicting the same 5% for 2017.”

View the article online here

Sub £1m market to remain resilient

Camilla Dell, Managing Director of Black Brick, believes that as we approach the year end, the UK’s leading agents and property analysts have the tough job of predicting the outlook of the property market.

Camilla said: “This year, their job is tougher than ever as the UK market faces extreme uncertainty as a consequence of the Brexit vote. Not only will the terms of the UK’s relationship with the EU have a profound effect on the country’s overall economic performance over the next few years, but the treatment of the financial sector will bear particularly on the London property market.

The collective response to this uncertainty is expected to be inaction, with both JLL and Savills predicting no growth for Prime Central London (PCL) in 2017. This is followed by a growth of 15.2% and 20.8% respectively over five years to 2021. Although we largely agree, we caution the usefulness of a single number for such a heterogeneous market as prime London. As we have seen in the past, just as some geographic areas have performed better than others; some parts of the market are likely to outperform the average.

For example, we expect the lower end, below £1 million, to remain active and resilient, supported by government programmes, such as Right to Buy. Furthermore, the current stamp duty regime continues to make properties at this end of the market relatively attractive to investors. This implies that outer prime locations are likely to do better than a more traditional – and more expensive – PCL.

 There will also be outliers at the higher end of the market; we’re seeing stock dry up as vendors refuse to countenance the discounts needed to close deals. This can have effects in both directions; those sellers which come to the market are likely to be highly motivated to sell, and open to offers, while limited supply can see buyers pay up for high quality properties.

For the opposite reason, we remain very cautious on the new-build 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.

Of course, there is a near-term wildcard, in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Statement, due on 23 November. Budgets under George Osborne delivered raid after raid on the property market and we don’t know what – if anything – Philip Hammond has up his sleeve.”

View the article online here

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

Areas of the central London property market are “flooded” with overpriced newbuild homes that will have to be offered at “substantial discounts” to sell, according to a buying agent in the city.

Camilla Dell, managing director of the buying agent Black Brick, said in a market commentary her firm is “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.”

The sharp house price rises in central London sparked a wave of development, many of which are “luxury” flats with bumper price tags.

But since the end of 2014 there have been a number of tax hikes on property investors and expensive homes, including higher stamp duty, denting the market and sparking asking price cuts in the newbuild sector in particular.

However, Dell said she expects the sub-£1m sector of the London market “to remain active and resilient” because it has not been subject to the same tax rises as higher up, meaning those properties are still “relatively attractive to investors”. Domestic buyers are also supported by government schemes such as Help to Buy.

“This implies that outer prime locations are likely to do better than a more traditional – and more expensive – PCL [prime central London],” Dell said.

“There will also be outliers at the higher end of the market; we’re seeing stock dry up as vendors refuse to countenance the discounts needed to close deals. This can have effects in both directions; those sellers which come to the market are likely to be highly motivated to sell, and open to offers, while limited supply can see buyers pay up for high-quality properties.”

View the article online here

Focus On Bermondsey: River views, great food, warehouse conversions – what more could you want in SE1?

For centuries condemned as a slum, this centrally located area in Zone One has blossomed in the last ten years into one of the most artistic – not to mention delicious – parts of London. It reached its property peak this year, recording its highest ever sale with a property in Shad Thames – land first owned by the Knights Templar – selling for £4.7m.

Like much of the East End, industry that was deemed too noisy or dirty was sent to the periphery of the City and Bermondsey became known for its factories and textile warehouses. At one time, it was responsible for producing a third of all the leather in England but, by the mid-19th century, it was a notorious slum, particularly the area around St Saviour’s Wharf. Known in the Victorian era as Jacob’s Island, it was immortalised as the place where criminal Bill Sykes met a sticky end in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.

The area known as Butler’s Wharf was heavily bombed during World War II and it wasn’t until the 1980s that it began to be redeveloped. It was a great success, and now Shad Thames, as it’s known, is an upmarket shopping district with many riverside restaurants and smart apartments lining its banks.

One Tower Bridge, an enormous Berkeley Homes development sitting in its own park where a penthouse is currently on sale for over £3.6m, is the pinnacle of this success and it’s set to be the site of a new theatre curated by former National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner.

The opening of Bermondsey Underground station on the Jubilee Line only solidified the area’s distinct character from that of nearby Borough and Bermondsey Street is now a foodie fantasia. According to Hamptons International data, there are a whopping 66 restaurants and 63 cafes to choose from. The same data shows that year on year price growth currently sits at 11 per cent and 23 per cent of the market share is made up of first time buyers.

“Bermondsey has a high concentration of local authority buildings, in which privately owned apartments can be bought for under £650 per square foot,” says Jamie Burnhope of property buying consultancy Black Brick. “With the regeneration at Elephant and Castle and the continual growth of London Bridge, Borough, and Shad Thames, Bermondsey represents a very good-value option for any first time buyer wanting to be in a central location.”

Bermondsey’s obvious potential meant that many of its historic warehouses have been bought up by developers and have been turned into luxury flats.

Recent examples include the Old Grange Tannery, which has been renamed Corio by Linden Homes, 53 apartments at The Taper Building by Shape Real Estate, Crest Nicholson has two in close proximity – Snowsfield Yard and Brandon House – and duplex apartments are being sold from £1.6m at The Music Box by Taylor Wimpey.

Whether the postcode is SE1 or SE16 makes a big difference, too. Will Wisbey, from Hamptons International’s London Bridge office says, “You go to SE1 and you’re going to be paying up to £1800psqft, but in South Bermondsey, for a larger flat, you’re talking about £700-800psqft. SE16 is definitely the best place to go if you’re an investor.”

It’s this mix of architecture that makes Bermondsey so appealing to a wide range of buyers and will ensure it stays attractive in the future, according to Foxtons’ London Bridge sales manager Chris Venter.

“Bermondsey’s architectural styles point to key periods in the city’s history. From pre-war homes and ex-local authority houses to upmarket period flat conversions, warehouse conversions and recent developments, it is a melting pot of real estate traditions.”

View the online article here

 

Top 40 Residential Buying Agencies

We are delighted to be ranked 4th in Prime Resi’s “Top 40 Residential Buying Agencies”. The guide is a definitive rundown of the most influential, successful, respected and connected residential property buying agencies in Britain.

 

Experts’ guide to selling your home faster this autumn

8. Caspar Harvard-Walls, Partner, Black Brick (www.black-brick.com)

“The property market has, without doubt, shifted in favour of the buyer, so sellers need to make sure that they give themselves every opportunity of achieving a sale. The most crucial point is price, so owners need to look at their local market and honestly gauge whether they are listed at the right level.

“Owners who are looking to make a quick sale should make sure that they understand what their target audience demands. If they have a family house, then they should focus on making sure that the kitchen looks its best, rather than focusing on whether the surround sound system works. If, however, the property is likely to appeal to a professional couple, the priorities for the master bedroom and bathroom become much more relevant.

“As a seller, you want a buyer to aspire to purchase your home. If the property is not taken care of, then this becomes so much more difficult. The first impression really does matter; try to think about your home through the buyer’s eyes. Just because you don’t mind your underwear all over the bedroom floor and the bath full of hair doesn’t mean that everyone else does. If in doubt, keep everything neutral, so that the buyer can imagine what it would be like if they moved in.”

View the article online here

London’s Mega-Mansion Owners Have a Tough Time Selling

To sell their 10-bedroom home, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his wife, Jools, may have to first undo what they’ve done.

Six years ago, the couple, both 41, bought adjacent townhouses in north London’s Primrose Hill neighborhood and combined them into one very large home. The couple, who have five children, now plan to move and are listing the property for £9.95 million, or about $12.1 million.

Amid a slump in London’s luxury market, the Olivers’ house has failed to sell—despite a $2.4 million price cut earlier this month. So now they’re planning to revert the house back into two properties likely to list for around $6.1 million to $7.3 million apiece. In August they obtained building permits from Camden Council to carry out the work.

Until recently, ultrarich homeowners in London who wanted more living space bought up neighboring townhouses or next-door apartments and combined them into one mega unit. In extreme cases, they bought homes on adjacent streets and then excavated cavernous basement complexes to link them up.

 

But while high-net-worth buyers can afford to create these urban mansions—and some still do—the decision may haunt them when it comes time to sell. That’s because market demand for these vast homes has softened significantly. The average sale price of homes in the £10 million-plus bracket ($12.19 million) has fallen 10.4% in the past two years, according to estate agents Savills. SVS -1.28 %

Moreover, local authorities are routinely refusing to grant the building permits required to combine multiple residences into one. This is partly to ease London’s severe housing shortage and partly to appease neighbors fed up with the noise and disruption of these mammoth projects.

Kensington and Chelsea Council, or RBKC, has a government-set target of increasing the number of homes in the borough by more than 700 annually. As a result, officials now reject around 50% of applications to merge homes.

Despite all this some owners will go to extraordinary lengths to achieve their goal. Late last year, Garrett Curren, chief executive officer of Credit Suisse in the U.K., was allowed to convert three apartments in Belgravia, one of prime central London’s choicest addresses, into a single property.

To persuade the RBKC to approve his project, Mr. Curren, who was unavailable for comment, paid $5.12 million for a house in nearby Holland Park. This will simultaneously be converted into four apartments, which he will be free to sell or rent out, making up for the loss of individual housing units Belgravia.

Not every owner has to go to such expensive lengths. In August, Charles Dunstone, founder of Carphone Warehouse, DC. -0.56 % was granted building permits to sink a basement beneath his home in the Holland Park neighborhood of west London. Mr. Dunston, 51, and his wife Celia, 36, own three other properties nearby and the new basements will give the properties a subterranean linkup.

The news has outraged their neighbors. They complain that the Dunstones, who have three young children, have already caused years of noise and disruption in creating their compound-style home. The Dunstones declined to comment on the furor.

Residents in Regent’s Park are no more delighted by an ongoing project by Christian Candy, the 42-year-old founder of the CPC Group and the developer behind London’s ultraluxury One Hyde Park building.

In 2014 he bought five neighboring office buildings and two houses on an adjacent street in the Regency neighborhood.

Work began last year to convert the properties into four large houses with basement levels, despite neighborhood objections over noise and traffic.

The project isn’t entirely commercial. Mr. Candy and his wife, Emily, 34, who have 3-year-old twins, are reported to be planning to live in one of the houses, although a spokesman would only say that this was “yet to be decided.”

 

Another way London homeowners are adding space is by buying up smaller mews houses behind their properties, which would originally have provided stabling for horses and accommodation for grooms and carriage drivers. They then link the two properties via a basement. This, some real-estate agents say, is one kind of expansion that might work in their favor commercially when they sell.

“Large houses that acquire the mews houses behind will achieve a premium once sold, due to the fact that the mews houses offer off-street parking and staff quarters above,” said Jamie Hope, director of sales at Maskells estate agents.

On Chester Square in Belgravia, a townhouse once owned by Margaret Thatcher, prime minister from 1979 to 1990, with a newly built mews house in the rear, is on the market for $33.6 million.

The newly refurbished property measures 6,229 square feet and has six bedrooms and six bathrooms, according to the listing by Savills. A new basement level features a gym, and a bar with a 500-bottle wine cellar.

Lateral space—where apartments in neighboring buildings are combined to create a huge property across a single floor—also remains popular among the ultrawealthy, said Matthew Kaye, director of Kaye & Carey.

“Lateral space today is more desirable than that found in a typical London townhouse [that spans] over five floors,” he said. He estimates that a house on a good street in South Kensington might command $2,400 to $2,800 per square foot, but that a first-floor apartment spread across two or more buildings would sell for over $3,650 per square foot.

The ultrawealthy like to live in compounds for a series of practical reasons, said Caspar Harvard-Walls partner of Black Brick, believes. They offer space for extended family and extensive leisure facilities that existing homes simply can’t accommodate.

“If you want the best nannies, the best cooks, the best butlers, you can’t just stick them in the basement or on the top floor anymore,” he added. “They require good, on site, self-contained accommodation.”

There are also emotional reasons. “It is an expression of wealth,” said Mr. Harvard-Walls. “It is meeting the demands of people with very, very large budgets.”

View the article online here

Prime property prices rising in some locations in London

Property prices in London’s prime residential market were down 2.1% in the year to September 2016 but there are embryonic signs of strengthening demand, the latest index report suggests.

There are signs of increasing activity with interest in the lower end of the market for properties priced in the £2 million to £5 million bracket rising, according to the index from international property firm Knight Frank.

In particular higher rates of stamp duty are increasingly being reflected in asking prices and the number of new prospective buyers registering in that price bracket rose 8.7% between January and August 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.

But there are considerable variations within the market with Chelsea seeing prices fall by 8.9% while in Islington prices are up by 3.6% year on year. Prices fell by 7.5% in Hyde Park, by 5.9% in Knightsbridge, by 5.3% in Notting Hill, by 5.2% in Kensington, by 4.7% in South Kensington, by 4.2% in Riverside, by 0.8% in Belgravia, by 0.7% in Marylebone, by 0.5% in Kings Cross, and by 0.3% in Mayfair.

In St John’s Wood prices were static and the rest of the price rises were all in the east of the prime central London market with City and Fringe and Tower Bridge the only other sectors joining Islington with price growth at 4.8% and 2.3% respectively.

Meanwhile, the total number of registered buyers and properties under offer rose 9.2% and 8.7% respectively over the same period, the index report also shows. Demand in lower price brackets remains stronger and across the whole market the total number of properties under offer was up by 39.3% while new prospective buyers rose by 26.2% in the three months to August on a year on year basis.

‘Stamp duty remains a decidedly bigger influence on the market than the European Union referendum and in some instances the uncertainty surrounding Brexit has been a catalyst for overdue price reductions,’ said Tom Bill, head of residential research at Knight Frank.

‘While it would be premature to suggest an inflection point is approaching, leading indicators are turning positive in the £2 million to £5 million price bracket, a section of the market that has felt the effects of higher stamp duty more markedly than other segments, as the chart below shows,’ he explained.

‘Combined with a favourable currency movement for buyers denominated in overseas currencies, this has created added momentum in the market in recent months. This is demonstrated by the fact demand indicators have been even stronger in the three months to August,’ he added.

‘This increased activity has yet to translate into higher transaction levels and overall volumes remain down by just under a fifth compared to 2015. Furthermore, in a sign that some buyers remain cautious, the average number of days a property remained on the market was 14% higher between January and August this year than 2015,’ Bill concluded.

The lower prices are bringing prospective buyers back to the market, and the drop in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote is making UK assets particularly attractive to overseas buyers, according to Camilla Dell, managing director of property buying agency Black Brick.

However, buyers are cautious amid concerns that overall the prime central London market may have further to fall. ‘No-one wants to overpay for a property and, amidst continuing market uncertainty, many of our clients are looking ahead and asking whether they might be better off waiting for further falls, Dell said.

‘The big question is what happens with Brexit and the only honest answer is that no one knows. This uncertainty is having an impact on supply. Many prospective vendors are choosing to let their properties rather than sell, while continuing low interest rates mean there is little financing pressure on borrowers,’ she explained.

‘Meanwhile, there is speculation that some developers might be looking to cut their losses on new developments, but our view is that any such distressed sales are more likely to be carried out through large-scale transactions with institutional investors, rather than on a per unit basis,’ she added.

She believes that it is impossible to predict the exact bottom of this market. ‘But if prospective buyers hang around too long, the risk there may still be bargains to be had, but all the good stuff will have gone,’ said Dell.

She also pointed out that the announcement from Apple that it is to become the anchor tenant at the redeveloped Battersea Power Station represents a vote of confidence in the capital. ‘The announcement is a boost for the wider regeneration of the area. It is likely to attract other tech companies to that part of London, which has seen a sudden rise in high profile residential developments,’ she concluded.

View the article online here

Off-street parking, plus an annexe

We look at the surprisingly prosaic features that add the most value to a house in a village or in the city

How much is your home worth? It’s not a simple question to answer. If you go on Zoopla or Rightmove, you will get one figure based on asking prices. Invite an estate agent round and they will give you another based on the deals they have in the pipeline. Pay for a surveyor, who will be looking for comparable properties that have sold, and it is likely that you’ll get a different value again.

Valuing a home is tricky. Finding out the average price per square foot for the area and multiplying that number by the size of your home might seem like a good way to get an exact answer — only the value of a home isn’t dictated by size alone. It is also affected by individuals, their motivations and the property itself: how badly does a vendor want to sell? What condition is the property in? How long has it been on the market? What makes a person desperate to buy one home and not another?

In recognition of this, Savills has surveyed its agents and asked them which features add value and which don’t. If you think that a home packed with original features in London will sell for more than one without, for example, you might be surprised to find out the facts.

Off-street parking ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home 3-7 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 0-6 per cent In London, off-street parking is a big advantage. It saves you the stress of trying to reverse a Volvo into a space that is really fit only for a Mini. In a village outside the capital it is considered essential, according to Tom Orford, the director of the Ipswich branch of Savills. Without parking, the value of a home could be reduced by as much as 25 to 30 per cent, he says.

South/southwest-facing garden ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home 1-4 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 2-5 per cent Although a south or southwest-facing garden is a preference, it won’t always swing a sale because the majority of gardens still get sunshine in the summer no matter what their orientation. The consensus among agents is that while a south-facing garden does improve the saleability of a home — the extra light it brings makes the home more inviting — it doesn’t particularly bump up the price. Garden size is much more likely to add a premium — anything over 60ft is especially prized.

That said, a big garden isn’t always desirable: the buying agent Nicholas Ayre reports that clients of his were recently put off buying a home in London because it had a 100ft garden and they were worried about maintaining it.

A good view ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home up to 10 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 5-9 per cent Up to 10 per cent seems conservative if anything — agents often put the value of a river view at up to 20 per cent. Robin Chatwin, the head of Savills southwest London, says that for some retirees who are downsizing, a good view can make up for living in a smaller home.

In Cambridge, Ed Meyer, also from Savills, adds that “people don’t necessarily have it on their wish list, but it can be a deal-clincher”.

Low EPC rating/energy efficiency ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home 0-2 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 0 per cent A report published by the Department of Energy & Climate Change in 2013 stated that nearly 93 per cent of homes sold are in EPC bands C, D and E, with 45.5 per cent in band D. This means that almost all homes have a poor EPC rating. This could explain why, despite our concerns about climate change, a low EPC rating still doesn’t seem to matter. “Have I ever had a client pull a deal because of the EPC rating? No, never. People never look at them,” says Ayre.

Historical or architectural significance ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home 0-5 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 0-4 per cent “We don’t come across blue plaques very often — they are still pretty rare,” says Caspar Harvard-Walls, a partner at Black Brick. “It’s something that will assist in getting viewings but not necessarily add value unless it’s someone very famous. In terms of architectural significance, the Barbican, in the City of London, has an incredible following from people who like that brutalist architecture. The Barbican has its own market — there is nothing like it — and as a result achieves values in excess of the local market.”

An annexe (secondary accommodation) ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home 5-10 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 10-25 per cent Increasingly, buyers are looking to live with two or three generations in the same house, or are looking for an investment. As a result, secondary accommodation is creeping up buyers’ wish lists. This is popular with people who work from home, people who want a granny flat and people who are looking to rent out the accommodation. “We have found that more and more buyers are looking for secondary accommodation,” says Orford. “Our last three buyers wanted this.”

Original period features ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home 1 per cent or less ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 5-15 per cent The reason for the low London figure is that while original features are sought after in period property, buyers are aware that they can easily restore period features at a small cost and are no longer willing to pay a premium for them.

Not everyone shares this viewpoint. “When features are gone, sometimes these properties lack character. They become bland white boxes and it doesn’t help them to sell,” says Harvard-Walls.

Technology and gadgets ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home 2-8 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 5-10 per cent Good technology and a Miele or Gaggenau appliance suggests that a homeowner has invested in a good boiler too. It reassures buyers of a level of maintenance, which explains why this is one of the features that adds significant value in and outside London.

“Lots of technology can be a bad thing if you are an investor,” says Ayre. “It will mean endless calls from your tenant saying: ‘I can’t get the blinds to go up.’ “

Planning ready ■ Value added in a £1.25 million London home up to 4 per cent ■ Value added in a £750,000 regional home 1 per cent or less “Increasingly, we are seeing buyers preparing their properties with planning in place,” says Jo-Anne Neighbour, of the Islington office of Savills. “Often they will submit a planning application, which does not cost a lot, and look to sell for an added premium.”

Outside London, particularly in more rural locations, space is usually not an issue. Planning permission for barn conversions does not usually add a premium.

View the article online here

Are we entering a buyer’s market in Hampstead and Highgate after Brexit?

Prices in Camden have fallen for the fourth month in a row, transaction numbers have quartered since May and sellers are accepting sizeable discounts. But is it really time to call Armageddon on the north London property market?

The retired doctor, 61, had plans to move back to Liverpool where he was originally from and figured that he’d ideally be out of the capital by July.

But, come September he was still in Highgate, aiming for a new move date at the end of the year or even January 2017.

In a part of London where we’ve got used to the idea that any old wreck will have a solid offer from a cash investor for well over the asking price within seconds of being listed, this sluggish progress seemed surprising. Isn’t there always demand for good quality period homes in north London?

“I’ve had no trouble selling my house – I had a lot of interest from when I first put it on the market – but my potential buyers have had trouble,” he explains.

“They’re downsizing from a bigger, significantly more expensive house, also in Highgate, and it’s taken them a long time to sell. I’ve been sitting on their offer for my house since March, although I think it may finally have resolved.”

What’s causing the delay?

The obvious answer would appear to be the Brexit effect.

The average price of homes sold in Camden in July, the month after the referendum, fell 3.8 per cent compared to, June according to the latest figures from the Land Registry.

At £788,065 Camden house prices were also 0.6 per cent lower than those recorded for July 2015.

Closer to home, the Ham & High property supplement – that reliable barometer of the north London property market – may be thickening with adverts again after the typical August lull, but is less hefty than the bulky September editions of three or more years ago.

So while the result of the EU referendum has not increased confidence amongst domestic buyers or sellers, it’s only a chapter of a somewhat longer story.

Roarie Scarisbrick, partner at Property Vision says: “The perception amongst buyers is that there’s been a change that’s in part due to the uncertainty around the referendum and what’s going to happen next but also it’s been a tough few years for buyers of property because costs have escalated dramatically.”

The changes to Stamp Duty introduced by George Osborne in December 2014, which the then-Chancellor said would decrease the transaction tax paid by 98 per cent of buyers, increased the tax burden on buyers of properties costing more than around £1million slightly and on buyers of more expensive properties significantly.

This has inevitably had a dampening effect on the market in higher priced parts of the country, Hampstead and Highgate among their number, as buying a home becomes ever more expensive, quite aside from soaring asking prices.

“It’s been a tough few years for buyers of property because costs have escalated dramatically, especially when you start to march into the higher budget range, you’re looking at some pretty eye watering sums” says Scarisbrick. “The volume of buyers is way down and continues to dwindle. It’s a bit of a buyers’ market.”

How low should you offer?

If this sounds like a warning of an impending crash, however, don’t get your buying hopes up, nor should you despair if you’re thinking of selling. We’re talking softened not slashed prices here.

“Across the board everybody’s talking about a 10 per cent reduction, but it doesn’t necessarily apply to every street and to every house,” says Scarisbrick.

“It’s not a bargain basement out there, you’ve still got to pay a sensible price, although values are holding up better at the lower end than at the higher end: £2-5million is where it starts to get sticky. I don’t think we’re in an Armageddon situation, but it’s the part of the market that’s been most affected.”

“Some of the prices we’re seeing in certain streets in Highgate are ridiculous,” says Charlotte Bourne, associate director of Taylor Gibbs. “Some of them are about £50,000 over what they should be on for. In those cases, 10 or 20 per cent below the asking price would be a good offer.”

In less expensive fringe areas business may not be booming but nor is the market standing still.

Yonni Tahor of Benham & Reeves in West Hampstead says: “One of my colleagues alone did 110 viewings in August and we’ve taken on three houses between £1.85million and £2million in the first week of September.

“It does remain a price sensitive market and there’s no point putting your property on with a bullish asking price because viewers won’t be attracted but, as an agent, if you’re willing to put in some hard work you’ll get rewards.”

Why are we not talking about a full scale property price crash?

For one thing, there just aren’t enough people who are under pressure to sell, meaning that the supply of available homes is limited.

“I’ve told my estate agent that if someone puts in an offer, they’re not in a chain, they can buy it fairly quickly, and they’re prepared to meet the price show them round and if they’re not, don’t. I’m not under any particular pressure to move,” says Coakley.

“I did have someone put an offer in and the day after Brexit they phoned up and said ‘we’re going to drop the offer by something like 10 per cent’. I told them to get stuffed. If I was desperate to sell I’d have had to say yes but I wasn’t and anyway, I had this other offer from the guy who just had to sell his place first.”

Coakley’s story is not unusual. North London is full of family homeowners who would perhaps like to sell up and downsize but are in no real rush to do so if it’s not convenient and, crucially, they can afford not to.

“Stock remains fairly limited as it was after the financial crash as well,” says Camilla Dell, managing partner of Black Brick buying agency. “What happens in these markets is that a lot of sellers that don’t need to sell don’t sell. Instead they put their properties onto the rental market.

“With interest rates so low, many landlords and other owners who might have been in a position where they had to sell aren’t.”

Where are the investors?

The Brexit-weakened pound may have made all our summer holidays more expensive but you might also expect it to mean that foreign investors would be snapping up London property while it’s comparatively cheap.

Yet transaction numbers in Camden for May 2016 (the most recent figures available) were the lowest they’ve been since February 2009 with only 94 properties sold – a sign of pre-referendum jitters?

Admittedly this slump did follow a particularly busy March when investors rushed through transactions before the additional three per cent Stamp Duty for second homes was introduced in April but even so, it suggests it’s not just Brits who aren’t buying.

“Overseas buyers have seen Brexit as an opportunity although we’re yet to see many of them actually buying. There’s a lot of interest but I still think there’s some nervousness.”

Scarisbrick agrees. “The new Stamp Duty for second homes killed the market for discretionary investors. It’s very hard to get a return on their investment now.

“This year we’re starting to see investor buyers, largely dollar denominated, following the referendum.

“They smelt blood, their view was that we’re on our knees. They’re looking around, time will tell if they find the kind of discounts they’re looking for.”

View the article online here

How speculation shaped the housing market

The latest figures suggest house prices are still (just about) creeping up, despite economic uncertainty and buyer jitters. But are bricks and mortar really immune to the ups and downs of every other asset class? Where will it all end?

It never used to be like this. Before the Right to Buy scheme was introduced in 1980, only around half of people owned their own home. The majority of other households rented social housing, meaning they had security and freedom to put down roots. Should they want to buy a home of their own the average house cost £24,000, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

Over the next decade house prices almost trebled, while incomes rose just 17 per cent. It was the start of a property price boom that has seen the average property price in the UK soar to £288,000 by the end of 2015. If the price of a chicken had risen at the same rate as property prices have over the last few decades, it would now cost more than £50. Many lay this this steady and significant increase in prices firmly at the feet of buy-to-let landlords and other property speculators piling money into bricks and mortar. But where will it end?

Ordinary investors

The affordable housing campaign PricedOut suggests that, as homeowners who’d bought in the 80s saw their property value suddenly soar, they began to view their homes as an investment rather than simply a place where they lived. Instead of selling their homes when they moved, they could keep hold of them, let them out and gain both a steady income and the potential to sell for a considerable profit.

“Speculation in the housing market absolutely affects prices,” agrees Reuben Young, a policy and communications officer at the affordable housing campaign PricedOut. “But when we say ‘speculation’, most people think of super-rich foreign investors buying up high-end property. In reality most speculation is done by ordinary people.

“Ordinary people are speculating on the housing market if they’e purchasing a house because they expect it to increase in value. This doesn’t make them bad people – it’s just a product of the housing system we have, where homes are seen as economic assets before they’re seen as infrastructure or places to live.”

“There’s been no five-year period since records began 40 years ago where an investor would have made a negative return once you take into account price growth and return,” says Mark Weedon, head of institutional investment at crowdfunding platform Property Partner. He rejects the use of the term ‘speculation’ for property investment, arguing it’s a secure asset class where most people invest for the long term.

However, he accepts its popularity has helped fuel price inflation. “It’s definitely had an impact and that impact has increased markedly in recent years. The private rented sector has grown enormously for the best part of 30 years and that’s really picked up more recently. For example, between 1995 and 2015, the private rented sector increased from just 10 per cent of households to 20 per cent. It’s fair to say that it’s had some impact on prices because an increasing proportion of the overall demand has come from investors.”

And this is likely to get worse without intervention. Dan Wilson Craw, of the tenants’ rights group Generation Rent, says: “When people are buying homes in order to speculate in prices instead of to live in, you see that becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy as more investors pile in, prices go up and so more investors pile in.”

This can have a negative effect even on tenants who don’t wish to buy. He adds: “It affects the behaviour of the investor in relation to their tenants. They might decide to sell when the price is right and turf out a family who’d been hoping they were in a long-term home.

“Where landlords and other property investors are investing for price rises, that harms tenants and creates their own customer base by stopping them from buying and forcing them to rent.”

More homes, fewer issues

“What is definitely clear is that the UK economy now more than ever requires good quality housing across all types of tenure,” says Mr Weedon. “There is a large body of people in our society who will never be able to afford to buy, irrespective of government help schemes they will never have the income or family wealth to buy a home. Higher up the social mobility scale, in every town and particularly big cities and certainly London there’s a meaningful part of the workforce where it’s not appropriate to buy – they require flexibility and mobility.

“You could argue that we’d have an even bigger problem on our hands if the Government pushes more people into home ownership at the expense of the private rented sector, which could restrict availability and affordability for people who need to rent not buy.”

Current efforts to help new buyers by penalising investors have been criticised by landlord groups but Camilla Dell, managing partner at independent property buying agency Black Brick, thinks the clampdown is hurting first-time buyers too.

She comments: “The reality is that the intervention may have actually made things worse for them. As a result of changes to Stamp Duty, we now see a far greater number of investment clients buying smaller properties for investment and directly competing with first-time buyers. I feel that the new Chancellor now has an opportunity to address this and alter the very punitive levels of Stamp Duty that we now see, which should help diffuse some of the competition at the lower levels of the market.”

Constrained supply

Perhaps investors couldn’t create such waves if the pool was deeper. Only 142,890 new homes were completed last year, with some analysts arguing we need at least 300,000 a year to meet the needs of a growing population.

Mr Young says this is the only way to bring prices back under control. “The Government should commit to ending house price inflation,” he argues. “This would be a major shift away from current policy, which is to expand home ownership by subsidising demand. Help to Buy, Right to Buy, Starter Homes… these are all demand-side policies which increase prices. The only way to curb price rises and make housing affordable is to increase supply or reduce demand.”

It seems that, once again, the only answer to the country’s many housing issues is to build more homes. Frustratingly, the charity Shelter has recently warned that if more is not done to increase supply, the Government will miss its target of a million new homes by 2020 by more than a quarter.

Should that be the case, investors and owner-occupiers will continue competing over an inadequate supply. And when supply is inadequate to meet demand, prices will keep on rising.

View the article online here

Tips on selling large-family homes

It’s all fine and dandy, until you try to sell up: there are fewer buyers and they tend to be more picky. Experts share their tips to ensure you seal the deal

Owning a house with four or more bedrooms and a couple of acres of land might not seem like something to complain about. But if you’re trying to sell a home that’s on the large side, you may well have found that what you thought was the ultimate aspiration can actually be a real headache (not that you’d let any of your space-starved friends hear you whinge about it — much).

Research by the property portal Rightmove shows that, in July, homes with four bedrooms or more took the longest to sell: typically 74 days from being advertised online to being marked as sold subject to contract, compared to an average of 58 days for one-, two- and three-bedders. That’s not such great news for the thousands of parents who, with their children heading off to university, have decided it’s time to downsize.

As well as being patient, owners of sprawling pads have to be ready to cut the asking price. “Our analysis of the first half of this year shows that properties where the achieved value fell below the asking price sold at an incrementally slower pace,” says Oliver Knight, a country research associate at Knight Frank estate agency. “When the achieved value was 90%-95% of the asking price, exchanges took an average of 12 weeks. This compared to two weeks when there hadn’t been a reduction.”

Beyond the average family home, of course, those with serious square footage have fewer potential buyers — especially since the higher rates of stamp duty made the cost of moving up the property ladder substantially higher. So you’ll need to be realistic if you really want to sell.

“Correct pricing is key in today’s market,” says Rupert Sweeting, head of the country-house department at Knight Frank. “I am always advising clients to be brave enough to make the house look good value, as this approach will increase the number of viewings and the likelihood of competitive bidding.”

Alongside price, Sweeting adds, it has to look good — obvious to some, but it’s amazing how many houses are shown to viewers with beds unmade, dirty clothes strewn over the floor and the loo seat left up. This makes for a stark contrast with the decluttered, styled photographs in the brochure. “First and last impressions count, as many buyers make up their mind within the first or last five minutes.”

Even if you’ve got price and presentation covered, there’s a host of other thorny issues to tackle when trying to sell a large home. Here’s our tailor-made guide.

Does my house look big in this? Your brochure — whether online only or in vellum-bound glossy print, with drone shots — is your bible. And whether you have four bedrooms or 10, a modest garden or acres of parkland, every inch of it has to look good for the photos (and be maintained). Yes, we’re all bored with hearing about decluttering, but it’s a vital tool in presenting a fresh-looking home.

Don’t leave the place bare, though, says Richard Barber, director at the prime central London estate agency WA Ellis. “Good furnishings ensure the property is photographed well. If your home is empty, rent furniture with help from an interior designer. Spending £10,000 will easily add £20,000 at the £1m level.”

As for the grounds, have them photographed when they are at their best and full of colour. “Even if you want one more Christmas in the family home, have your pictures taken earlier in the year, when the garden is in bloom,” says Caspar Harvard-Walls, a partner at the buying agency Black Brick.

Other things to stress in the brochure (if you can) are low heating bills and the fact that the price includes curtains, carpets and any specialist garden machinery — which will help ease in new owners.

Do your homework You need to be ready for when someone makes you an offer you are prepared to accept. Decide on the price point and timescale you are happy with. Before the “For sale” board goes up, get all your legal paperwork in order, including any related to building regulations and planning consents, so nervier buyers don’t pull out.

A view to a kill You want to make a good impression from the second potential buyers arrive. “Ensure the driveway is clear of boats and spare cars, and freshen it up with gravel — but not so it feels like a painful walk along Chesil Beach,” says Richard Banes-Walker, a partner at Strutt & Parker estate agency’s office in Farnham, Surrey. You’ll also want to keep the house welcomingly warm on chilly days, so don’t spare the thermostat.

It may be a good idea to make yourself scarce, at least during first visits. “An owner being present on a viewing more than halves the chance of a sale,” says James Robinson, general manager at Lurot Brand, a London estate agency. “Regardless of the size of the house, your being there will make many buyers feel claustrophobic. And you probably won’t like what your agent needs to say about the house in order to sell it.”

If it really is vast, the innovative features that make it liveable should be stressed. Laundry chutes, lifts and intercoms can make things feel more manageable, and maintenance should seem smooth — have average running costs ready on a spreadsheet. Above all, make sure viewings are kept interesting: even the most committed buyer’s attention will flag once they have done the 20,000 sq ft mansion, polo fields, stabling, leisure suite and office complex. Work with your agent to set up refreshment pit stops where your home or grounds can be seen from flattering angles.

If you’re not sure how to pitch it, you could always enlist a friend as a “mystery shopper” and test-drive the agents’ patter — but, again, be prepared for some brutal honesty.

From garish to greige Getting rid of that creepy doll collection, toning down the purple walls and hiding those nude photos of yourself can never be a bad thing, but the process of “essential neutralisation” that many agents extol can be taken too far. In fact, making a home too neutral, and a canvas too blank, can be offputting, as the Los Angeles-born composer Brian Banks, 60 — who has worked with musicians including Michael Jackson and David Bowie — and his British wife, Sarah, who runs his production company, have decided.

The couple bought Elberton Old Manor, a grade II listed house set in 1.7 acres of gardens near Bristol, for just over £1m in 2004, and have spent about £500,000 creating a luxurious family country home. They have restored the property, which has almost 8,000 sq ft of living space and seven main bedrooms, and created state-of-the-art equestrian facilities, but now their daughters, Charlotte, 19, and Elektra, 16, are leaving home, so they are selling up for offers over £2m.

“The kitchen is quite neutral and the bathrooms are classic, but we have a piano, all our artwork and clearly defined living spaces with different feels to them,” Sarah says. “It’s a quirky, interesting home, and I think people want to know a place is truly loved and live in.”

Size matters

• Don’t be greedy. If you price your home correctly, it should sell, whatever its size.

• Keep up the cleaning and tidying. A home should be immaculate for every viewing, inside and out, not just the first.

• Discuss strategies with your agent. A particularly appealing room or feature should open and close a viewing: most decisions are made during the first five and last minutes.

• If you have extensive grounds, make sure you have a pit stop set up for refreshments — you don’t want to exhaust viewers.

• If your house needs work, and you can’t afford to get it done yourself, get detailed quotes prepared.

• All legal documents and paperwork should be in order from the off. Many buyers end up pulling out because they are not prepared to wait.

View the article online here

Hot property: how to spruce up your home before you sell

You love your home – the quirky corners, creaky cupboards and all the memories. But if you do put it on the market, you’ll probably have to make a few small tweaks to ensure it appeals to prospective buyers – and ultimately get the right price. We chatted to some property experts about how to boost your home’s appeal.

As well as decluttering and treating all the walls and doors to a new lick of paint, there are lots of ways to convince buyers that your home’s the one for them. For starters, think about who your buyer is likely to be.

‘If you have a family house, focus on making sure that the kitchen looks its best rather than on whether the surround sound system works,’ advises Caspar Harvard-Walls, partner at property buying agency Black Brick. ‘If the property is likely to appeal to a professional couple, then the master bedroom and bathroom are more relevant.’

What’s in store?

Ample storage space is the top priority for homeowners, according to a study by Furniture123 – with 26 per cent claiming that this was the most important factor to them and 19 per cent reporting that they’d previously turned down a property because of its lack of storage space. But it’s not just a case of stuffing things in cupboards – the space should look neat inside, too, especially if someone might open the cupboard door.

It’s great to be able to give buyers the run of your home without hovering over them, so remove anything fragile and hide your valuables away. Check which of your possessions are covered just in case something does go missing after the tidy-up.

Hidden treasures

Your family photos and holiday mementos may evoke cherished memories, but for visitors they could give the wrong impression.

‘This is definitely the “selfie era” but, when you’re selling, it’s time to take a step back,’ says Walter Di Martino, head of communications at property portal Gate-Away.com. ‘This means removing family portraits from walls and furniture so potential buyers will be able to envisage themselves and their families in your house, not you.’

Also make an effort to remove any pet traces from your home, as not everyone likes animals and some may even have allergies. While no one expects your pets to go on holiday while your house is up for sale, keeping evidence to a minimum can help. Tidy away litter boxes, toys and food dishes, and don’t forget to vacuum dog and cat hair off your sofa and carpets.

A quick fixture refresh

Before you put your house on the market, it’s time to brave the ‘man drawer’ for the WD40, some batteries and a radiator key.

‘Your house will seem old and not well maintained to the attentive eyes of the prospective buyer if things don’t work perfectly,’ warns Walter Di Martino. ‘Try using some lubricating oil on window, door and cupboard hinges to get rid of squeaks.’

Next, check that all the electrics work, from the doorbell to the smoke detectors, and, if necessary, replace the batteries. After all the doors stop squeaking and the lights stop flickering, bleed the radiators.

‘A functioning heating system is key to making the property cosy, warm and inviting,’says Karl Tulloch, founder and MD of home repairs and service provider Rightio. ‘Not only will a toasty house make the viewer feel positive, but it subconsciously reinforces the idea that this will be a low-maintenance property that’s easy and cheap to heat.’

Don’t forget the basics

No one likes living in a show home, but simple things – such as loading the dishwasher or washing up after each meal – will make sure you’re not caught out with a display of dirty crockery.

Comfort is also important, so think about where your buyers might sit down. Plump up cushions, flip mattresses and soften up any furniture you’re leaving behind with throws and cushion pads.

‘Once a viewing is booked in, make sure you leave the property tidy, with the curtains open and beds made,’ adds Jo Eccles, MD of Sourcing Property.

You can’t do a proper clean without shifting the furniture to clean underneath it – you could even rearrange to create more space in the living room. Once you’ve found the best arrangement for feng shui, get rid of any pesky dents left in your carpet with ice cubes – yes, ice cubes! Watch how on our cleaning tips video.

As well as surveying the floor, buyers’ eyes are usually drawn to ceilings and walls as they look for signs of damp or leaks. Make sure you paint over signs of historic issues (that are now fixed!) to reassure them that they’re looking at a well-maintained home.

Dress to impress

Arrange viewings for when your property looks its best during the day – for example, when it has sunlight streaming through the front windows or onto the garden. You could also let your neighbours know when your viewings will be, just in case they’re planning a noisy party or renovation work.

If evenings are the only time you can do, or you’re selling your house in winter, viewings will benefit from a light boost, so swap bulbs in lamps and ceiling fixtures for those that give out a crisp, bright light. This will help to create a warm welcome, but a strategically-placed doormat and somewhere to hang coats make buyers feel even more at home – plus it’ll help keep muddy footprints at bay.

A nasty niff (perhaps from the aforementioned mud on the carpet) can put buyers on their guard, but a great smell will have the opposite effect. Keen bakers can opt for whipping up a batch of fresh cookies, but you could also consider scented candles, a discretely hidden diffuser or fresh flowers and plants dotted around each room. The benefit of baking is that you can offer your treats to guests afterwards, accompanied by a refreshing drink to wash it down.

Once everything’s prepped to perfection, make sure that any photos of your place are taken with a wide-angle lens that it looks its absolute best on property sites.

You’ll be surprised how just trying a few of these small steps can really increase your chances of a sale – even in a difficult property market. In fact, you may even find yourself falling back in love with your home yourself!

Mystery clouds UK’s most expensive home – who owns the £63m flat and why does it keep going on sale?

Apartment C.08.1 in London’s luxury One Hyde Park development by Candy & Candy – the most valuable block of flats in the world – came with a price tag of almost £63m ($83m), making it the most expensive home on the open market in the UK.

But it has just been removed from sale for the fourth time in four years, apparently still unsold, as the super-prime property market feels the heat from a number of tax increases by the Treasury.

Sprawling for nearly 9,000 square foot across a whole floor of the building, Apartment C.08.1 has views over Hyde Park, all the highest quality fixtures, fittings and finishing, high-tech gadgets, a concierge service provided by The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a gym, swimming pool and spa, opulent bespoke interior design by Candy & Candy, and much more.

The current owner, thought to be the used-car magnate Geoffrey Michael Warren, has tried to sell it at least four times since 2012, slashing the price tag by £2m along the way.

The property’s agent at Savills in Knightsbridge was contacted for comment on 22 August, while the apartment was still listed as for sale, but did not reply. However, in the 24 hours between the approach for comment and the publication of this article, the property was again removed from the market. The listing has not, as is common when a sale is agreed but the paperwork incomplete, been updated to mark the property as “sold subject to contract” or “under offer”.

“I’m afraid we are not able to help,” said a spokeswoman for Savills when asked if the property had now sold. Warren, 61, was approached for comment via his company Cargiant, but no reply was received.

“I think the super-prime end of the market has been going down in terms of values for almost two years,” said Caspar Harvard-Walls, a partner at the buying agent Black Brick. “A lot of people are laying the blame at Brexit’s door, but really the market had shifted before that.”

It is a series of tax hikes on high-end and investment property – such as higher stamp duty for expensive and second homes, the introduction of capital gains tax for foreign investors, and an annual levy on homes owned by offshore structures – which are the biggest drag on demand.

Moreover, a glut in the supply of luxury newbuild property in London makes One Hyde Park less unique that it once was. “All of those things have had a big impact on that end of the market,” Harvard-Walls said. “As a result, you probably will see some of these properties hanging around for much longer than they would have done a few years ago.”

The market for super-prime properties is tiny: there have been just three sales of properties in England and Wales worth over £20m in 2016 so far, show Land Registry figures. Between 2011 and today, there have been 36 such sales. By comparison, in the year to date there have been 350,252 home sales in total in England and Wales.

Finding the bite mark

Apartment C.08.1 was first put up for sale by the current owner through the agent Aylesford International in May 2012 with a price tag of £65m, but later removed from the market, despite some high-profile media coverage on MailOnline and Forbes.

The apartment reappeared on the market in May 2014, this time listed by Savills and for a price tag of £68m. Again, it was removed from the market — only to pop back up a year later in June 2015, listed at £75m and including a promise to pay the buyer’s potential £9m stamp duty bill after a tax hike by the then-chancellor George Osborne.

Having been removed from the market again, it was in April 2016 relisted by Savills for one pound shy of £63m – 3% lower than its 2012 asking price, 7% below is 2014 price, and 16% below the 2015 price including stamp duty. The promise to pay the buyer’s stamp duty has since vanished – and so has the latest advert.

“Values have come down and transactions have fallen so therefore sellers are having to be more realistic,” Harvard-Walls said. “These things are rare. That’s why they’re very, very hard to value.”

View the article online here

Meet the UK’s rental elite

Contrary to popular belief, not every tenant is the victim of a cruel property market denying them the right to own a home and condemning them to a dangerous, overpriced hovel that has been left in disrepair by a modern Rachmanite.

A spring report suggested almost 80% of private renters were happy with their home and what they got for their money. Figures released last week also showed that, in July, average annual rents in London fell for the first time in six years, as landlords flooded the market with buy-to-lets. While the decrease was just 0.5% — or £7 on a typical £1,280 a month — Countrywide estate agency estimates that tenants now have 23% more homes to choose from in the UK than this time last year.

At the top end of the market, more people are opting to rent rather than buy. And they’re about as far from the image of the downtrodden tenant as you can imagine — we’re talking billionaire business types, international investors and some of the world’s top athletes. This new breed of affluent rentysomethings falls into four categories.

Stamp-Duty Savers

Sales of high-end homes have plummeted in recent months, mainly because of high levels of stamp duty. Duty payable on purchasing a property at £15m can now be as high as £2.14m — about three years’ rent for a home of comparable value.

Knight Frank estate agency says the number of homes worth £10m or more let successfully to renters in prime London increased by a third in the year to March, while sales of homes in the same price range and the same areas have dropped by about 30%.

“With enormous stamp duty, mistakes can be costly, so many more people are now renting. And with economic uncertainty, our overseas visitors are in no hurry to buy,” says Mark Tunstall, founder of the high-end letting agency Tunstall Property London.

Ironically, the glut of high-end renters is more than matched by the glut of frustrated owners who cannot sell their ultra-expensive homes and so seek to let them out. Knight Frank says rents fell 2.3% in prime central London in the year to May, with 18.1% more high-end flats and houses for renters to choose from.

Sporting Super-Renters

The specialist agency Tennis London finds homes near the All England Club for Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and the Williams sisters for Wimbledon fortnight, but it’s football’s new signings that make letting agents’ mouths really water. Professional soccer contracts finish on June 30, with the transfer window opening the next day, triggering up to 100 high-value player moves within the UK. “Many of these are working-class kids aged 19 and upwards who have come into money and find themselves renting homes that, outside London, could cost £10,000 to £15,000 per month,” says Stephen O’Kane, head of the sports, media and entertainment division at Savills estate agency.

Footballers such as Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris have opted to rent rather than buy. Chelsea players gravitate to Cobham in Surrey; Spurs players look to Hampstead; and signings for the Manchester teams head to Cheshire. “They often want new-builds with modern interiors, perhaps in gated complexes,” says O’Kane. “Most know that their professional lives can be relatively brief, and so not that many commit to buy, at least not while they’re young. Many recognise that property is a good investment, so they put some of their earnings into a buy-to-let, even if they rent themselves,” he says.

Global Brexit Opportunists

Post-Brexit, long-term uncertainty may create the occasional bargain home for Brits moving up the ladder, but the real winners are foreign buyers in central London who are benefiting from lower asking prices and a weak pound.

Some feel the sales market is on the floor and have bought, but others — along with some canny locals — are renting because they think prices have further to fall. “We may see more and more would-be buyers opting to rent in the short term to give them greater flexibility. When the buying market slows down, the rental market usually picks up,” says Jo Eccles, founder of the buying agency Sourcing Property.

Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick, another buying firm, says the fear of a possible second Scottish independence referendum is also boosting demand from Scots for high-end rentals in London.

Music, Movie and TV Tenants

Matt Damon took over a pad in Paddington, London, while filming the fifth instalment of the Bourne franchise. Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill all rented near Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire when they shot Star Wars: The Force Awakens last year. The accommodation costs were nothing compared to the $2bn the movie made.

“Film shoots start at about 5am so renting near the studio is important. Likewise, if a musician rents while he’s doing a tour of the UK, being near Heathrow or transport links becomes the key criterion,” O’Kane says.

There have been no reports of A-listers complaining about mould or dodgy electrics — although Margot Robbie, the poster girl for A-list flatsharers, has moaned about the boys in her shared Clapham house stealing loo roll.

Having money to spend on the rent doesn’t guarantee a perfect rental property. Some consolation, perhaps, for the more typical tenant who is saving for that elusive deposit on their first home.

 

View the article online here