Where to buy property in London
01-12-2014
By Arabella Youens
Where to buy property in London
Buying property in London is a tricky business - we find out where different buyers with different needs should be looking to invest in the capital in 2014
Take four London buyers: those looking for a pied-à-terre, those downsizing to London, those seeking to invest for the children and international buyers.
Where to buy a Pied-à-terre in London
Not very long ago, the notion of the pied-à-terre was a two-bedroom flat in a portered block somewhere in the heart of the action. ‘But, nowadays, that involves spending between £2 million and £3 million (or much more) and not getting anything particularly special,' says Guy Meacock of Prime Purchase.
‘Our clients ask whether it's sensible to spend a full-time price on a part-time home so, increasingly, they've been looking beyond the traditional confines of Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster to what Savills call the "outer prime market".' Roarie Scarisbrick of Property Vision says that flexibility on location will continue to be key in 2014. ‘There's no point buying a pied-à-terre in Chelsea if you live in Norfolk and come into Liverpool Street.' He recommends Marylebone as a good spot: ‘It's really charming around the High Street and it's in the perfect position for getting around town as well as in and out, especially with Crossrail approaching.'
Where to buy if you are downsizing to London
There's a small but steady stream of buyers who are selling up their country pads to do two things: release equity to pass on to their children and return to town. ‘The great wave of young families moving out of London to the country isn't happening in the same volume as previous generations and so some of our clients, when it comes to selling the big country house, are choosing to move back to London to be near their grandchildren,' explains Mr Meacock. In his view, this means that areas such as Fulham, where prices have gone ‘bananas' in recent years, will continue to prove attractive, as well as Battersea.
The difficult thing is finding the right space-something that's large enough, but relatively hassle-free to run and that overlooks a park or some green space. It gets more complicated if there are dogs to factor in, too-many leases and portered blocks preclude them.
Where in London to invest for your children
For capital appreciation, Jonathan Mount of The Buying Solution recommends the following areas as ones to watch in the next 10 years: Battersea/ Nine Elms, Earls Court, Bloomsbury and Victoria. ‘In each of these areas, there are huge changes in infrastructure planned, which will undoubtedly raise their profile: the extension of the Northern Line with two new stations in Battersea; the USA and Chinese embassies; the redevelopment of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre and Seagrave Road car park; Crossrail opening up Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia; and the redevelopment of the area around Victoria, which means new pedestrianised streets, new shops, a new library and an extension of the Victoria Palace Theatre.'
The request to find something rentable now that will wash its face and grow with the market is so common these days that Prime Purchase has set up a team specifically to act for this sector, which generally spends between £600,000 and £700,000 and up to £1 million on a property. ‘Last week, I spoke to someone who wants to buy a flat for each of his four children in the arc that runs from Battersea and Wandsworth to Fulham and Brook Green-all of which are handy for Heathrow,' says Mr Meacock.
Where International buyers should buy property in London
‘The array of different nationalities in the London market is greater than it has ever been and they keep on coming,' explains Mr Scarisbrick. He notes the inflow of South-East Asians continuing to buy off-plan in new developments and the appetite for Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Belgravia that comes from the predictable quarters of the Middle East, India, Russia and Eastern Europe. ‘The Chelsea market is a bit more British, with a European accent. Most of our Middle Eastern clients, however, think it's a hell of a long way from Harrods.'
Elsewhere, the international buyer isn't weighed down by the innate snobbishness that British buyers feel about moving ‘south of the river'. And, as Mr Mount says, ‘as price growth begins to slow in prime areas, those with a slightly more relaxed attitude to risk may look at some key spots in prime-outer London boroughs, where prices are currently rising at a faster rate than more established locations in the centre'.