By Carol Lewis.
Black Brick: Blue Plaques Make for Good History — But Don’t Move the Needle on Price
When it comes to the question of whether historic blue plaques add meaningful value to London properties, Black Brick’s Camilla Dell offers a clear-eyed verdict: for serious buyers at the top end of the market, they rarely feature in the decision at all, according to reporting in The Times.
Dell drew on direct experience to make the point. “The most recent blue plaque property we bought for clients was in Hampstead — an off-market deal of almost £20 million,” she told The Times. “I can honestly say that the blue plaque did not feature at all in the decision-making process for my clients. They were far more interested in the house, the condition, and the fact that it was grade I listed — a feature they wanted and valued.”
It is a characteristically grounded perspective from an agency whose clients are focused on the fundamentals: location, quality, condition and value. At the level at which Black Brick operates, the presence of a plaque — however distinguished the former resident — is unlikely to move a sophisticated buyer’s calculus in either direction.
The article, which explores the history and application process behind the UK’s 19,000-plus historic plaques, acknowledges that there can be exceptions — particularly where a property has a strong cultural association and the right buyer happens to share that passion. But as Dell’s example illustrates, for high-value prime London transactions, the substance of the property itself will always take precedence over its historical theatre.
As featured in The Times
Read the full article here.