Musings of London Property Buyers Agents

Kensington Palace Gardens retains it’s position as the most expensive street in the UK and the fourth most expensive street in the World according to a report commissioned by Wealth Bulletin.  Kensington Palace Gardens is one of the most expensive streets in the world for a reason: it is also one of the most prestigious and a fabulous road to live in.

Situated behind Kensington Palace within a short stroll of Kensington High Street and a few minutes in the car from Mayfair, this residential road offers suburban seclusion in the middle of the city.  Substantial semi-detached and detached neo-Palladian villas and mansions with large gardens of around an acre each, characterise the quiet, extra-wide tree-lined street.  Security at each entrance controls vehicular access and the only noise to be heard is the chirping of birds and distant hum of traffic and happy voices from Kensington Gardens.

Originally the kitchen gardens for Kensington Palace,the land was sold off on a leasehold basis by the Crown Estate from 1841.  Leases were initially granted for 99 years and the intention was that new residents would pay in excess of £3,000 for their new homes – a substantial sum in Victorian England.  The Crown Estate continues to retain the freehold of all property and the road itself. 

Other London Property Buyers with homes in Kensington Palace Gardens include Jon Hunt the founder of Foxtons who reputedly bought his house in 2005 for £14 million and was reputedly offered £100 million for it 3 years later, which he turned down.  Lakshmi Mittal the steel magnate, the Saudi Royal Family, the Sultan of Brunei and several embassies and Ambassadors also have homes there, but mostly residents are very private billionaires, with good taste in property.  Not for them, the tasteless horrors on the Bishops Avenue.

In our capacity as Property Finders, we only act as London Property Buyers Agents for Clients looking in the UK, specifically in London and the Home Counties, however the full top ten most expensive addresses in the world according to Wealth Bulletin are as follows:

1. Avenue Princess Grace, Monaco
2. Chemin de Saint-Hospice, Cap Ferat
3. Fifth Avenue, New York
4. Kensington Palace Gardens, London
5. Avenue Montaigne, Paris
6. Via Surveta, Saint-Mortitz
7. Via Romazzino, Porto Cervo, Sardinia
8. Severn Road, The Peak, Hong Kong
9. Ostozhenka Street, Moscow
10. Wolseley Road, Point Piper, Australia

Technorati Tags: Buying Prime London Property, Kensington Palace Gardens, London Property Buyers Agents, London property finders, Prime London Property

Tags: Buying Prime London Property, Kensington Palace Gardens, London Property Buyers Agents, London property finders, Prime London Property

Musings of a London Property Finder

After the 2.6% rise in average house prices posted last month, the Halifax have reported a 0.5% drop in June, which is a sign of sensible buyers in our view.  Anecdotally, anyone looking for a home right now will know there is a lack of property available and some homes are going quickly or reaching sealed bid situations.

Martin Ellis, housing economist for the Halifax said: “ On a quarterly basis, the 1.9% fall in house prices in the second quarter was the smaillest since 2008 Q1.  These figures provide evidence that the underlying pace of house price decline is easing.”

He added, ” Improvements in affordability and low interest rates have stimulated housing demand.  This, together with a low level of properties available for sale, has helped to stabilise activity and reduce the underlying rate of house price decline in recent months.

Overall we expect to see a continuing mixed pattern of monthly house price rises and falls over the remainder of 2009.”

It will be interesting to see what the land registry, the house price index which tracks sold prices reports over the next few months.   Everyone in the know is noticing that the market seems to be stabilising but with a poor economic forecast overall, I would boldly suggest that sellers wishing to sell in the next 9 months should do so now and try to catch the tail end of the summer rush as we are predicting a slower Autumn. 

Longer term, we should also consider politics and if the tories get in next May as expected, then they will undoubtedly pressurise the Bank of England to raise interest rates to support savers who make up a significant proportion of their support.  If that happens, the affordability we are seeing today will reduce.  Whether house prices follow or whether there is enough pent up demand to sustain them remains to be seen.

In my capacity as a London Property Finder, the advice to buyers is simple.  If you find your dream home: buy it if you can negotiate a price you are happy with.  If you are under time pressure, go ahead and buy, but don’t pay more than the property is worth now, particularly if you want to make money.  Is it a good time to invest?  Absolutely, but only if you know what you are doing and you or someone else researches the property thoroughly.  There are more genuine bargains around now than there have been for a while, but there are some turkeys too.  If you need some advice or need an ROI-focused London Property Finder, you know where we are.

Technorati Tags: Halifax, House Prices, London House Prices, London property finders

Tags: Halifax, House Prices, London House Prices, London property finders

Musings of a London Property Finder

I don’t know about you but every property anorak has at least one that got away and mine is a Maison de Maitre in Blaye.  I wasn’t looking for a French home at the time, but I had just sold my first house and moved in with my husband to be, so I had a hefty wad of cash in my bank account.  The house was advertised in The Sunday Times and I seriously considered flying over to buy it, or at least consider it with other homes in the area. 

For those unfamiliar with French reds, Blaye vineyards produce decent Bordeaux, although it is on the opposite side of the Garonne to Margaux and Paulliac, but the house was a kilometer or so from the river edge, so I could always have sailed across.  In any case, I rather suspect, 3 storey double-fronted country houses with 4 hectares, yes, hectares of vines plus a garden, would have been out of my price range on the other side!

However, it wasn’t to be.  The husband to be pointed out that he didn’t speak French, so we would be back to a long-distance relationship, so rather reluctantly, I gave up the house for the man.

Last year, we made a foray to Blaye on a buying trip after over-indulging at the Bordeaux wine festival and had I followed my instincts, I would have quadrupled my money in 6 years, assuming I hadn’t become the new ‘Garagiste’ or specialist boutique winemaker.  It wouldn’t even have been too much work as the outgoing owner had an arrangement with the neighbour to share the wine if the neighbour did all the work.

Needless to say, I have never bought my French dream home, but for those who have or have bought another European bolt-hole, apparently you can claim tax allowances back to the 2006/2007 tax year as long as you register by the end of the month.  We are Property Finders, not accountants, to talk to your advisors for more information.  In a nutshell we understand the main criteria are as follows:

• The property must be let furnished
• The property must be available for holiday lets for at least 140 days a year
• The property must have been let for at least 70 days a year
• The property must not have been occupied continuously for more than 31 days for at least 7 months of the year

Good luck from the Property Finders!

Technorati Tags: dream holiday home, French dream home, London property finders, overseas buy-to-lets, overseas holiday homes, Tax, tax breaks

Tags: dream holiday home, French dream home, London property finders, overseas buy-to-lets, overseas holiday homes, Tax, tax breaks