As a high end Property Finder, I often find myself musing on what I would buy and where I would buy it if I stumbled across a large sum of money. It can be quite a fickle day dream of mine as I can never quite decide if I would spend my (imaginary) money on an airy flat in a red-brick  Kensington mansion-block, a delightfully gothic house in Hampstead or a white stucco flat on a garden square in Pimlico (with access to the tennis courts, of course).  

‘Property Porn’ is the nation’s past-time, and the Metro indulged commuters this morning with a story about a unique house, in Newquay, Cornwall, which comes with its own suspension bridge.  I don’t think the 30 ft suspension bridge is part of the appeal, but rather something that you’d gladly put up with to live on Towan Island – a rock surrounded by the sea when the tide is in and a sandy beach when it’s out. Originally a tea-room, the 1930’s house has been lived in by the current owners for just over 10 years and has direct and un-spoilt sea-views. The extraordinary location and sea-views could be yours for £1million.

Photograph taken by Ennor

What will £1million buy you in London, Brighton or Sussex? Well that of course depends upon the location. In Knightsbridge, arguably the most prime of prime central London, £1million would buy you a one bedroom flat on the second floor of a very nice mansion block. In trendy Shad Thames, SE1, beloved by city folk who hate public transport, you could get a spacious two bedroom warehouse conversion with roof terrace and view of Tower Bridge for the same amount.  In Sussex you could move in to a charming rectory with a beautiful cottage garden. In Brighton you can buy a luxury three bedroom apartment with roof terrace and direct sea views, or lots of family houses in good roads and still have a few hundred thousand in your back pocket.

As London and Sussex Property Finders we don’t know much about property in the South-West, but if you’re searching for a unique property in London, or sea views in Brighton or Sussex, call Manse & Garret Property Search, the UK’s Best Property Finders on 020 7923 7564 and let us find it for you.

Technorati Tags: Buyers agents, House Prices, House prices in London, London Buyer's Agents, South East House Prices, sussex house prices

Tags: Buyers agents, House Prices, House prices in London, London Buyer's Agents, South East House Prices, sussex house prices

The government announced yesterday that the HS2 rail-link between Birmingham and London is to go ahead at a cost of £33billion. 65% of the responses to a consultation mentioned property, and at Manse & Garret Property Search we too are interested to see what the affect will be on property prices in London, Birmingham and along the route.

The link is expected to cut journey times between London and Birmingham by 30 minutes. Commuters who traverse this route will benefit from shorter journey times but it is the disruption during construction and the on-going noise created by trains travelling at speeds of up to 225mph in 2026 that is causing concern for property owners.  A Department of Transport Report from 2009 predicted that 21,300 households would experience an increase in rail noise, which in our experience is not what people look for when buying a house.

If your house is under the route then you can expect to receive a compulsory purchase order from the government, however not until 2015. The government has promised that property will be purchased based on the open-market value, “as if unaffected” by the scheme. Owners will also receive a home loss payment of 10% of the property’s value and reasonable costs will be paid. The problem with this is that many of the affected areas have already experienced a decline in house prices because the scheme has been years in the making and it is not clear if these home owners will be bought out at pre-HS2 prices.

Perhaps those in a worse position are those whose homes will not be considered for compulsory purchase, but who will be affected by the noise.  The government says that 3,100 properties will experience a “noticeable” increase in noise. Homeowners will be able to claim for any loss of value on their property resulting from noise, vibration or artificial lighting, but only once the railway has been open for a year. There is no amount of secondary glazing or sound proofing that can help you to enjoy your garden in peace and quiet and it is these homeowners who may have trouble selling their properties even at lower prices. The good and influential people of Primrose Hill were successful in making enough of a fuss so that the proposed route under Primrose Hill was changed so that they would not be negatively affected by vibration from the trains. Unfortunately the good people of Belsize Park have not been so lucky, Adelaide Road, Fellows Road and Eton Avenue are now likely to be affected instead.

What will happen to property prices in Birmingham and London? The value of property in Birmingham is likely to increase, as demand for property in Birmingham increases, becoming more attractive to those who may not have considered commuting this distance before now. As for London, will an extra rail-link into Euston boost property prices in this area? It’s unlikely that there will be that much of an increase; Birmingham is not as enticing a location as Paris and so proximity to this rail-link is unlikely to be at the top of many property buyers’ wish lists.

Technorati Tags: Birmingham, high speed 2, House Prices, House prices in London, HS2, London Buyer's Agents, Primrose Hill

Tags: Birmingham, high speed 2, House Prices, House prices in London, HS2, London Buyer's Agents, Primrose Hill

As London Property Finders it is our business to know what’s going on in London, and the creation of two new tube stations is certainly big news in the property world. The Chancellor gave his backing to the proposed ‘Northern Line Extension’ at the end of November. This is part of a wider Nine Elms Regeneration project and the government is hoping to tempt developers into contributing towards the scheme, which is estimated to cost between £750 million and £950 million. With an agreed programme in place by 2013, the construction of the line extension is set to begin in 2015. It will involve extending the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line from Kennington further south-west, and creating two new stations: Battersea and Nine Elms.

Taken by EG Focus

Nine Elms is a 200 acre stretch of undeveloped land south of the river opposite Pimlico. Situated between Battersea Park and Vauxhall it is just over 3 miles from Covent Garden. The re-development of the iconic Battersea Power Station and Tideway Wharf into luxury flats is something that has been discussed for at least twenty years, and there have been more recent plans in place for the US embassy to relocate here from Mayfair in 2017. I believe that the Northern Line Extension is the key to ensuring the successful re-development of this area – a sentiment the developers involved share. This is best shown at http://northernlineextension.com/ where a website has been created and consistently updated with positive news stories relating to the scheme.

Knight Frank ear-marked Nine Elms as one of its 2012 “Hot Spots”. They have predicted an 140% increase in property values by 2016, with people paying around £1,800 per sq. foot, compared to  £750 per sq foot which property currently achieves in the area. The new tube links will bring this area within 11 minutes of the West End and the City.  In central London, location and travel-time are more often than not discussed in terms of tube stations and tube journeys and by putting Battersea and Nine Elms on the tube map it makes the area more attractive to young professionals, increases demand, and increases property prices in the area. At Manse & Garret Property Search it is unlikely that we will see many of our clients looking to buy in this area, as end-users.  Some of our investors may be interested purchasing property here as buy-to-let investments, but we certainly won’t be buying for them at £1,800 per sq foot!

Technorati Tags: Buy-to-let, Buyers agents, House Prices, House prices in London, northern line extension, re-development, transport links

Tags: Buy-to-let, Buyers agents, House Prices, House prices in London, northern line extension, re-development, transport links