Property Rich List 2015: the London street with homes worth 150 times the national average
07-13-2015
Revealed: Britain's top 10 most exclusive streets
The mega mansions and private estates dotted along London's 'Billionaire's Row' - the most expensive street in Britain - are worth 150 times the national average, according to Zoopla's 2015 Property Rich List.
The Sultan of Brunei and Tamara Ecclestone are among the wealthy elite who count private estates on Kensington Palace Gardens in W8 as part of their global property portfolios. House prices here average a staggering £42.6 million - in comparison to the current UK average which stands at £270,511.
Zoopla's 2015 Property Rich list also reveals that the number of homeowners in Britain sitting on properties worth £1 million or more has exceeded half a million for the first time. There are now 524,306 “property millionaires” in the UK, a rise of 8.3 per cent in a year.
Almost half of the 10,958 streets in Britain where property prices average over £1 million are located in London, and all 13 streets where the average house price is over £10 million are in the capital.
Yet an overall slowdown is continuing to effect house price growth across the capital's prime property market, with values in six of the top 10 most expensive streets showing negative growth - a stark contrast to the 12.9 per cent boost to property values recorded last year.
Andy Buchanan, Director of estate agent John D Wood & Co, suggests that the best houses are often not brought to the market during challenging periods, while sales of second-class houses indicate a reduction in values that is not truly reflective of the market.
For example, Grosvenor Gardens has not previously ranked as one of London's best addresses, but a whole side of the street has been sold to be redeveloped as a hotel - which is almost certainly why it has made it to this year's list. Meanwhile, the more esteemed Caryle Square in SW3 and Montrose Place, SW1, have dropped out of the top 10 table.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla attributes the fall in prime property values to widespread uncertainty surrounding the Mansion Tax proposals, which caused temporary stagnation at the top end of the market.
"This pre-election insecurity also plagued other pockets of the property market and it's likely that with the election now concluded, activity levels will increase," he says.
"In 2014, we saw average house prices plateau [in the second half of the year] after a strong start, but this time around we could well see the reverse of that and the year finishing more strongly than it began.”
Zoopla's 2015 Property Rich list also reveals that the number of homeowners in Britain sitting on properties worth £1 million or more has exceeded half a million for the first time. There are now 524,306 “property millionaires” in the UK, a rise of 8.3 per cent in a year.
Almost half of the 10,958 streets in Britain where property prices average over £1 million are located in London, and all 13 streets where the average house price is over £10 million are in the capital.
Yet an overall slowdown is continuing to effect house price growth across the capital's prime property market, with values in six of the top 10 most expensive streets showing negative growth - a stark contrast to the 12.9 per cent boost to property values recorded last year.
Andy Buchanan, Director of estate agent John D Wood & Co, suggests that the best houses are often not brought to the market during challenging periods, while sales of second-class houses indicate a reduction in values that is not truly reflective of the market.
For example, Grosvenor Gardens has not previously ranked as one of London's best addresses, but a whole side of the street has been sold to be redeveloped as a hotel - which is almost certainly why it has made it to this year's list. Meanwhile, the more esteemed Caryle Square in SW3 and Montrose Place, SW1, have dropped out of the top 10 table.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla attributes the fall in prime property values to widespread uncertainty surrounding the Mansion Tax proposals, which caused temporary stagnation at the top end of the market.
"This pre-election insecurity also plagued other pockets of the property market and it's likely that with the election now concluded, activity levels will increase," he says.
"In 2014, we saw average house prices plateau [in the second half of the year] after a strong start, but this time around we could well see the reverse of that and the year finishing more strongly than it began.”