Demand may have fallen off a cliff during the pandemic, but 2023 has seen apartments mount a resurgence in PCL, accounting for a growing share of sales as lockdown memories fade: 44% of £5mn+ transactions across the capital in the year to last month, up from 40% last year and just 28% in 2021.
London may be no different from other world cities in this regard, but recent media reports have painted a particularly grim picture of the capital: widespread looting, armed burglaries and attacks on high-profile personalities in broad daylight have all featured on the front pages over the summer – and security concerns have even been cited as a factor in some A-listers’ decisions to move out to the country.
After falling out of favour during the pandemic, it seems demand for apartment living is well and truly back. A top buying agency in PCL has revealed that 90% of deals it’s been involved with so far this year have involved flats, up from 43% last year.
On the face of it, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with its palace, its Michelin star restaurants, and its fabulously expensive real estate, has little in common with the down-to-earth Lancashire town of Clitheroe, where the main attractions include a tiny Norman castle and some outstanding traditional pubs.
Transactions are likely to remain low in Prime London during the months ahead, as buyer and seller expectations remain out of alignment.
The wisteria-covered portico pillars of Belgravia are in full bloom, and the world’s wealthiest are on the hunt for a safe haven for their families — and their cash.
For most of us, buying a property is the most significant investment we’ll ever make. But how can we know whether we’re getting a fair price, or judge whether a negotiation will be fruitful? Asking the right questions is key.
The spectre of Corbyn may be laid to rest, but the threat of a mansion tax continues to haunt the streets of PCL as election chatter intensifies.
A rare plot of land on north London’s Winnington Road has been put up for sale with scope for a new mega-mansion.
The 1980s were a time of social and professional mobility — glass ceilings galore were smashed. At the same time British suburban families were putting up millions of their own glass ceilings at home, and these too should have been smashed.
The property is a double-fronted, four-storey Victorian house with a south-facing garden. It may not look it, but it was one of the most expensive properties sold in the UK last year, with a valuation of £20 million.
It’s a rainy Monday afternoon and Will Watson, a buying agent who sources expensive homes in London’s most exclusive areas, heads to a trendy hotel and restaurant in Marylebone to meet a potential client.
