London luxury-home prices jump again
1.1% rise in average price of units costing £2.5m or more; overall market
unchanged
Symbols
of wealth: The UK's most expensive home (above) was purchased by Indian
billionaire Lakshmi Mittal for £57 million.
Luxury-home
prices in London, the world's most expensive city for prime real estate,
rose at the fastest rate in four months as the overall UK market stagnated,
industry reports showed.
The average price of houses and apartments costing at least £2.5 million
(S$6.96 million) climbed 1.1 per cent in January from December, Knight Frank
LLC said in a statement on Tuesday. There was no change in the average cost
of homes across the country, HBOS plc said in a separate report.
'It is being totally led by the purchase of properties of £10 million or
more,' Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said in an
interview. 'The number of deals done at that level in the past three months
was double a year ago.'
The wealthiest property buyers don't need to borrow money to make
purchases, so they're not dependent on lenders that have made it more
difficult and costly to obtain mortgages, Mr Bailey said.
Britons are now buying between 40 and 50 per cent of all London homes
priced at more than £10 million, up from 30 per cent a year ago, according
to Knight Frank, a real estate broker based in the city.
London's most expensive new- built home was sold for £50 million last
month to Hourieh Peramaa, a 75-year-old real estate entrepreneur from
Kazakhstan, Sunday Times reported on Jan 27.
The house on Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, northwest London, has nine main
bedrooms, 16 bathrooms and five reception rooms, and was acquired from
Turkish businessman Halis Toprak.
Ms Peramaa plans to spend another £30 million extending and redecorating
the property, the newspaper said.
Earlier in January, Lev Leviev, an Israeli diamond billionaire, paid £35
million for a house in the same district as Ms Peramaa, according to Daily
Telegraph.
Indian steel entrepreneur Lakshmi Mittal owns the UK's most expensive
home. He paid £57 million in 2004 for a home close to Kensington Palace in
central London. Both Kensington Palace Gardens and Bishops Avenue have been
dubbed 'Billionaires Row'.
January's increase in luxury-home prices was the biggest since September,
when prices advanced 1.2 per cent.
For the year ended Jan 31, the gain was 26 per cent, the smallest since
October 2006.
Across Britain, prices in January were 4.5 per cent higher than a year
earlier, according to HBOS, the country's largest mortgage provider. Lenders
are selling fewer mortgages as they contend with losses stemming from the
collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market.
Properties at the lower end of Knight Frank's prime index are now moving
more in line with the UK market, said Mr Bailey.
Bonus-earners in the UK's financial industry will invest £2 billion in
homes this year, compared with £5.5 billion in 2007, as they look for
higher returns, Savills plc said in November. Savills and Knight Frank are
the biggest brokers for prime London properties.
This year, top-quality dwellings in the UK capital will appreciate about
3 per cent, Knight Frank said on Tuesday, reiterating an October forecast.
The Bank of England's ability to cut interest rates to ward off an economic
slowdown may be hindered by inflationary pressures, said Knight Frank.
'It is fair to say that the issues of confidence and affordability that
have so far dogged the main market may now promote a more cautious
purchasing environment in the prime sector too,' Mr Bailey said.
Britain is home to about 68 billionaires, according to the Sunday Times
2007 Rich List. Many are investors from China, India and Russia who have
bought homes in London for its schools, stores, theatres and restaurants.
The most expensive houses can fetch as much as £4,000 a square foot, CB
Richard Ellis Hamptons International estimates. That compares with about £2,075
a square foot in New York, the broker said.
Purchasing at such prices so far isn't being inhibited by the prospect
that the UK may impose an annual tax of £30,000 on wealthy individuals who
live in the UK and keep their residence elsewhere for tax purposes, said Mr
Bailey.
'There is a lot of interest in deals being done by super-rich foreign
buyers,' he said. --
2008 February 7 Bloomberg
London luxury home prices lose
momentum
Homes worth
at least £2.5m up just 0.3% in Oct, slowest pace since July '05
Luxury-home prices in London rose last month at the slowest pace since
July 2005 as the prospect of job cuts and smaller bonuses deterred
investment bankers and other buyers, Knight Frank LLC said.
The average price of houses and apartments costing at least £2.5 million
(S$7.55 million) increased 0.3 per cent in October from the previous month,
according to an index compiled by the London-based property broker. Prices
gained about 34 per cent from a year earlier.
Companies in the City of London financial district may cut 6,500 jobs and
reduce bonuses by 16 per cent this year, the Centre for Economic and
Business Research said on Oct 8. For the past two years, most of the bonuses
have been spent on real estate, fuelling demand for apartments in London
neighbourhoods such as Chelsea, Kensington and Notting Hill.
'The impact of the credit crunch and a weaker City economy have
contributed to a more sober market,' said Liam Bailey, head of residential
research at the London-based firm.
Bonus-earners in the city will invest only £2 billion in homes next
year, compared with £5.5 billion this year, as they seek assets that offer
higher returns, according to Savills plc estimates. Savills and Knight Frank
are the biggest brokers for prime London properties, the most expensive in
the world.
The lack of investment will restrict the gain in luxury-home prices
to 3 per cent in 2008, less than a tenth of this year's rate, Knight
Frank forecast this week. The company cut its estimate from 10 per cent.
For homes costing more than £5 million, the average price increase
will probably be about 8 per cent next year compared with the estimated
2007 gain of 34 per cent, Knight Frank said. The main customers for the
most expensive houses and apartment are wealthy investors from Russia
and the Middle East, according to the broker.
The contrast with the rest of the London market 'illustrates the
strength of the super-prime market with demand from international buyers
remaining very strong,' Mr Bailey said. --
2007 November 6
Bloomberg
London Housing in the £1 million bracket may flatten
Fears that City bonuses will be slashed
have affected sales of Central London flats in the £1 million bracket.
The disclosure from Knight Frank, one of
the capital’s biggest upmarket property agents, comes with a warning that
any indication over the coming weeks that investment banks will cut bonuses
would cause house price growth in Central London to flatten for the rest of
the year.
Parts of Central and Northern England
have witnessed falls over the past month on the back of successive rises in
interest rates.
Until now, however, upmarket London homes
have been insulated from any wobbles in the general market by the estimated
£5 billion of City bonus money that has been flowing into the captial’s
smartest addresses after a record period of corporate and financial deals in
the past year.
Knight Frank’s riverside division,
which caters typically for bankers and other professionals looking for a pad
on or near the Thames, has reported demand grinding to a halt for homes
costing less than £1 million.
Sarah Haslam, head of the division, said:
“It has been like a ghost town in the under£1 million market so far in
August. We were very busy in the core market under £1 million for the past
two years and we are very busy in the £1 million and over market, but under
that it is as if there is no one out there. Typically, they are single and
young people. They are quite nervous and saying they will wait to see if
anything happens to their bonus.”
Liam Bailey, head of residential research
at Knight Frank, said that he could not foresee any crash in prime Central
London prices because of the chronic shortage of supply. However, he said
that prices could flatten rapidly if bonuses and banking jobs were cut.
September will be a crucial month for
testing the health of London’s prime markets, from Kensington and Chelsea
to Belgravia and St John’s Wood. Next month is the usual period for the
market to pick up as bankers return from their summer breaks.
Third-quarter figures from a quartet of
American investment banks are due out in a month, setting the tone for City
bonuses.
Last autumn agents at Savills
predicted that £5 billion of the £8 billion of bonus money would be
ploughed into London property. So far they have been right. Boom years for
the City in 2005 and 2006 have caused prime London properties to rise by an
average of 50 per cent over the past two years. - THE
TIMES 2007 August 23
UK house prices may rise 40% by 2012
Average prices in London will jump
48% on shortage of properties: report
UK house prices will increase 40 per cent
over the next five years because of a shortage of properties, a report by
the National Housing Federation said.
The average value of a home will rise to
£302,400 (S$929,716) by 2012, the London-based organisation, which
represents 1,300 housing associations, said yesterday. Prices in London will
jump 48 per cent to £478,300.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised
to build more homes to make property more affordable for Britons after
prices tripled in the past decade.
A property crash is 'unlikely' because
Brown's proposals won't resolve the supply shortage any time soon, forcing
first-time buyers to rack up debt or rely on their parents to get a foothold
in the market, the report said.
'Continuing house price rises and the
resulting housing crisis are set to stay with us for a long time,' said
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation.
'Home owners may see this as good news,
but it carries a sting in the tail. 'More and more people are going to find
themselves priced out.'
The average price of a home is currently
11 times the average workers' annual earnings.
The government should push ahead with
plans to build three million homes by 2020, and should invest more in social
housing, the National Housing Federation said.
In London, where the average house value
is 13 times earnings, prices will continue to be driven higher by wealthy
foreign investors and financial-services workers, the report said.
-- BLOOMBERG
8 August 2007
One-bedroom flat for sale at record £3m
A one-bedroom flat, believed to be the
most expensive in Britain, is on the market for £3 million.
The flat in Eaton Place,
central London, is one of the most desirable addresses in the world and its
valuation is a sign that, in fashionable areas, prices show no signs of
slowing down. The 1,400 sq ft property, which has a 125-year lease, consists
of a drawing room, a bedroom with en suite bathroom, a separate lavatory and
a kitchen. At least 10 other flats are for sale in the same street for more
than £3 million, but they have either two, three or four bedrooms.
Elizabeth Hurley, the
actress, owns a £5 million house in the same street, while David Blunkett,
the former home secretary, Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire, and
Sir Roger Moore, the actor, live close by.
- TELEGRAPH 6 June 2007
London
flat goes for £100 million
The
world's most expensive flat has just been sold in
London
for £100 million according to reports.
The most
expensive flat in
London
has been bought by the foreign minister of Qatar - the largest and most luxurious apartment in the One Hyde Park scheme.
For Sheikh
Hamad it really is all about location, location, location - the £100
million penthouse is located opposite Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge and
has stunning views over
Hyde Park.
The site comes with underground parking
for 115 vehicles and private lifts direct to each flat so residents don't
have to accidentally bump into their neighbours.
The development, designed by Richard Rogers Partnership, also features a special
tunnel linking to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
When completed in 2010 it will comprise 86 flats spread across four blocks. Prices are expected to
begin at around £4 million.
It also comes equipped with some seriously high-end facilities: 24-hour room service of a quality
comparable to the Ritz Hotel, personal lifts from the underground car park equipped with eye-scanners, floor to ceiling fridges, panic rooms and
bullet-proof windows and walls.
The £1.5bn block has
been designed by Richard Rogers is being developed by brothers Christian and
Nicholas Candy and is backed by the Sheikh himself from his personal
fortune.
It will not be ready for
another two years. Previous estimates for the price of the apartment ranged
from £20m to £84m.
Two other penthouses have
also been sold sources told The Times.
The previous most
expensive flat sold in
London
was in a
Chelsea
development for £27m in 2005 also sold by the Candy brothers to a British
financier.
At the time that was said
to be the most expensive apartment in the world.
The price easily beats
the price tag for what is marketed as
Britain
's most expensive house –
Updown Court
in Windlesham,
Surrey
– which is on sale at £70million. - 2007
March 27 METRO
33% gains for prime London property
Analysts cite influx of foreign buyers for fastest price rise in almost 30 years
Prime central London property prices are
growing at their fastest in almost 30 years - and at three times the rate of
the wider British market, figures show.
The value of the best properties in
central London has risen by more than 33 per cent in the 12 months to
end-April, according to estate agent Knight Frank's prime property index.
That is the fastest rate of growth since
mid-1979 and means prices in central London are rising at three times the UK
average.
A property worth just 100,000 pounds in
1976 would now be worth more than 4.1 million pounds, the index shows.
Knight Frank said demand had been
supported by growing numbers of overseas buyers and money spent on property
by City bankers.
Over the past year, Belgravia and
Knightsbridge have seen the strongest market, with prices surging by more
than 40 per cent.
Head of residential research Liam Bailey
said: 'London's traditional spring market rush starts earlier and earlier
every year. For the past two years, the season has opened in December rather
than March, and has run on well into May.
'The early part of 2007 saw an incredibly
active market, with price growth totalling nearly 11.9 per cent in the first
quarter.'
He said, even after 18 months of strong
price appreciation, the pace of growth was yet to slow and, if anything, had
quickened.
In the six months to end-April, monthly
price growth averaged 2.8 per cent, against 1.7 per cent in the same period
last year.
'The strong performance of the top end of
the market can be attributed, at least in part, to the continuing health of
the City economy and the bonus season,' said Mr Bailey.
'However, it is our experience that,
whilst there have been growing numbers of deals completed by City workers,
it is the influx of overseas buyers - European, Russian, Indian and
increasingly Middle Eastern - which is the key to the substantial price
growth seen in many areas of central London,' Mr Bailey said.
Knight Frank data shows that the supply
of available property fell by more than 50 per cent in the first quarter of
2007, compared to a 17 per cent rise last year.
Looking forward, Mr Bailey believed stock
shortages would continue to buoy the market.
Higher transaction costs - stamp duty, in
particular - mean people are moving less often, while the introduction of
home information packs (HIPs) this summer is also likely to cause a drop in
supply, he said.
The controversial packs - designed to
make the home-buying process more efficient, cut the number of transactions
that fall through and encourage homeowners to reduce energy consumption -
are due to come into force in England and Wales on June 1, but have met
fierce opposition.
HIPs are expected to cost sellers around
500 (S$1,520) and estate agents have been reporting a rush to complete deals
ahead of their introduction.
The Knight Frank prime central
London residential index charts the value of property at the top end of the
market: flats and penthouses with an average value of 2.5 million and houses
valued at close to 5 million. - Reuters
2007 May 24
- Prices of the most expensive homes in central London have soared by
5.6% in January and February alone, says Knight Frank, a top-end estate
agency, making its predictions of a 12% year-on-year price rise in
central London by the end of 2007 look already too low. It attributes
the rise to a shortage of stock, especially in Belgravia, South
Kensington and Chelsea, where there is continuing high demand from
overseas buyers.
- Rents in central London are increasing
at their highest rate on record, says Cluttons, a lettings agency. Rents
have risen by 13.8% in the past 12 months, only the second time in 20
years that rental growth has entered double figures. The agency says
that the steep rise is down to a shortage of good-quality properties to
let, and many would-be buyers renting. The firm claims that landlords
are also aggressively insisting that rents rise when properties are
relet or tenants’ contracts are renewed.
- Will
the boom continue?
London luxury-home prices rise at
record pace
Luxury- home prices in London rose at a
record monthly pace in March as Russians and Middle Eastern buyers competed
for a smaller number of properties with financiers from the City of London,
real estate broker Knight Frank LLC said.
The average price of the UK capital's
most expensive houses and apartments increased by an average of 3.1 per cent
last month from February, according to data compiled by Knight Frank. The
annual increase was 32 per cent, the highest in 28 years.
'The continued strong performance can be
explained by supply shortages and ongoing international demand now that City
bonus money has been paid out,' said Liam Bailey, head of residential
research at Knight Frank, in an interview.
The average price of a luxury house in
Knight Frank's monthly index is now almost £5 million (S$15 million), with
apartments costing £2.5 million. A typical house has appreciated by
100,000, or about four times the average annual UK wage, each month over the
past year.
Prime residential property prices in the
UK capital have now risen for 27 consecutive months. In the first quarter,
house prices rose by 10 per cent and apartments by 7.5 per cent. Chelsea,
favoured by bankers, and St John's Wood continue to perform well, said Mr
Bailey.
Luxury-home prices in London are rising
about three times as fast as UK house prices generally. Home prices rose
11.1 per cent in the three months to the end of March from the same period a
year earlier, HBOS plc, Britain's largest mortgage lender, said on April 5.
The most expensive homes in London, or
'super prime' properties such as the Hyde Park luxury apartment complex
project that is managed by Candy & Candy Ltd, are being pre-marketed
with price tags of about £4,500 a square foot, according to newspaper
reports.
In New York City, the most expensive
apartments bordering Central Park sell for close to US$7,000 a square foot.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani,
the prime minister of Qatar, last month paid a record £100 million for the
highest and biggest penthouse in the Candy & Candy Hyde Park
development, according to the London-based Times.
Russians account for 21 per cent of all
buyers paying at least £8 million for Londonhomes, said Mr Bailey. Middle
Eastern buyers account for another 13 per cent. Britons buy 37 per cent of
such properties, he said.
Roman Abramovich, Russia's richest man
and owner of Chelsea Football Club, spent £49.3 million buying six
properties in London between June 2005 and August 2006, according to the
Daily Mail.
Other international business people
including Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of the world's largest steel company, and
brewing heiress Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken have bought property in London
in recent years.
For houses worth more than £3 million,
UK citizens account for 40 per cent of purchases. -
2007 April 12
Bloomberg
London prime homes surge at record pace
The price of prime London homes rose at
the fastest pace in at least 31 years in January as wealthy European, Indian
and Middle Eastern buyers competed for houses and apartments in Belgravia
and Knightsbridge.
Prices of houses in central London valued
at about £3 million (S$8.9 million) and apartments costing more than £1.5
million rose 3 per cent in January, real estate broker Knight Frank said
yesterday. That's the biggest monthly gain since Knight Frank started its
prime London property index in 1976. 'It's the bosses rather than highly
paid bankers who are leading the way,' Liam Bailey, head of residential
research at London-based Knight Frank, said. 'There is no doubt that the key
to the price growth seen in Belgravia and Knightsbridge is international
demand.'
International business people such as
Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of the world's largest steel company; Roman
Abramovich, Russia's richest man; and brewing heiress Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken
have all bought property here in recent years.
Luxury house prices in Belgravia and
Knightsbridge rose 38 per cent in the year to January, while apartments
gained 36 per cent in value.
The number of people registered as
looking to buy in the three prime districts in southwest London was 37 per
cent higher in January than a year earlier while properties for sale hadn't
risen so pushing up prices, said Knight Frank.
Sales in the two districts are regularly
exceeding US$4,900 a square foot, said Mr Bailey. CB Richard Ellis Hamptons
International Ltd said in September that London was the most expensive city
in the world for prime real estate.
Prime Manhattan addresses on Fifth Ave,
Park Ave and Madison Ave near Central Park cost about US$1,870 a square
foot, the company said.
The 330,000 workers in London's main
financial district may have earned a record £8.8 billion in bonuses last
year according to the city's Centre for Economics and Business Research Ltd.
Prices for prime London properties rose
by at least 2 per cent a month in 11 of the last 12 months. - Bloomberg
2007 February 14
London house prices surge on shortage
London house prices advanced in March as
buyers snapped up properties at the fastest pace in almost three years, led
by demand from wealthy foreigners and bankers.
London house prices advanced in March as
buyers snapped up properties at the fastest pace in almost three years, led
by demand from wealthy foreigners and bankers.
'London is the financial capital of the
world, and we've just got more people looking than properties available,'
said commercial director Miles Shipside in an interview. He sold part of his
stake in Rightmove to fund his own house hunt in the city.
A shortage of properties for sale has
driven up house prices even after the Bank of England raised the benchmark
interest rate three times since the start of August. The average stock of
unsold property per estate agent fell to 62.7 in February, the lowest since
July 2004, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said in a report on
March 13.
UK house prices rose 1.5 per cent on the
month, the most in four months, and 12.2 per cent on the year, to an average
of £228,183. Values increased from February in each of the nine regions
measured by Rightmove in England, led by a 2.6 per cent gain in the North,
while they fell by 0.3 per cent in Wales.
'The supply problem is extremely bad,
especially at the top end,' said Gary French, chief surveyor at the Friend
& Falcke agency in Belgravia, an area neighbouring Queen Elizabeth's
London residence at Buckingham Palace. 'If people with money in Russia, or
in the longer term China and India, start to see London as a safe haven,
rightly or wrongly, then it will keep prices going right up. We're not
affected by domestic interest rates.' Kensington and
Chelsea, the district where film star Hugh Grant lives, led annual
gains in London, rising 83 per cent from a year earlier to an average
of £1,208,981.
The next biggest gain was in Westminster,
at 50 per cent from a year earlier, followed by a 29 per cent increase in
Hammersmith and Fulham.
Luxury-home prices in London rose at an
annual rate of 31 per cent in February, the fastest pace since 1979,
real-estate broker Knight Frank said on March 15.
Interest-rate increases in August,
November and January may be discouraging some buyers.
The Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors' index of house-price growth showed the smallest increase in nine
months as the number of people registering to browse property dropped to a
two-year low. - Bloomberg
20 March 2007
The
world's most expensive flat has just been sold in
London
for £100 million according to reports
ONE
HYDE PARK
London
flat goes for £100 million
  |
| Artist's impression
of the One Hyde Park development: four blocks made of glass and red
weathered steel |
The most expensive flat
in London has been bought by the foreign minister of Qatar - the largest and
most luxurious apartment in the One Hyde Park scheme.
For Sheikh Hamad it
really is all about location, location, location - the £100
million penthouse is located opposite Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge and
has stunning views over Hyde Park.
It
also comes equipped with some seriously high-end facitilities: 24-hour
room service of a quality comparable to the Ritz Hotel, personal lifts
from the underground car park equipped with eye-scanners, floor to ceiling
fridges, panic rooms and bullet-proof windows and walls.
The
development, designed by Richard Rogers Partnership for developers Candy
& Candy, also features a special tunnel linking to the Mandarin Oriental
Hotel.
When
completed in 2010 it will comprise 86 flats spread across four
blocks. Prices are expected to begin at around £4
million. The development's staggering prices are indicative of the
extraordinary house price inflation that has gripped the city for many years
now.
In Greater
London the average flat costs £275,267,
and the average detached house will set a homebuyer back by no less than
£628,239. This represents an increase of 11.3 oer cent over 12
months, far outstripping wage inflation and tightening the screw on
first-time buyers.
While
the likes Sheikh Hamad can happily spend a tenth of a billion pounds on a
single flat, the average London worker has to contend with prices that
average more than half a million in several London boroughs.
In
Kensington and Chelsea, the average price is £895,320,
up by 18.9% annually, and even less well-to-do boroughs like Tower Hamlets
and Hackney average close to £300,000 (up by 17.6% and 14% respectively)
If
the situation continues, a further interest rate rise may be in the
cards. However, in good news for those struggling with
affordability, the latest Nationwide survey indicates that the three rate
hikes introduced since last summer are beginning to take effect and house
price inflation is slowing somewhat across the country.
- May 2007
London flat goes for record £100m
If
you're struggling to get your foot on the property ladder spare a though for
a poor soul who is so far up it he needs an oxygen tank just to breath.
The world's most
expensive flat has just been sold in London for £100 million according to
reports.
Sheikh Hamad, the foreign
minister of the Gulf State of Qatar, is behind the purchase of the penthouse
home in the most exclusive block in the world -- One Hyde Park.
The apartment is one of 86 luxury flats being built on
the edge of Hyde Park opposite Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge.
The flats have 24-hour room service to the level of the
Ritz, bullet-proof windows, eye scanners in lifts and spectacular views over
Hyde Park and The Serpentine.
The site comes with underground parking for 115 vehicles
and private lifts direct to each flat so residents don't have to
accidentally bump into their neighbours.
Huge baths are hewn from wood, marble work surfaces,
floor to ceiling fridges, panic rooms and former SAS security.
The £1.5bn block has been designed by Richard Rogers is
being developed by brothers Christian and Nicholas Candy and is backed by
the Sheikh himself from his personal fortune.
It will not be ready for another two years. Previous
estimates for the price of the apartment ranged from £20m to £84m.
Two other penthouses have also been sold sources told The
Times.
The previous most expensive flat sold in London was in a
Chelsea development for £27m in 2005 also sold by the Candy brothers to a
British financier.
At the time that was said to be the most expensive
apartment in the world.
The price easily beats the price tag for what is marketed
as Britain's most expensive house – Updown Court in Windlesham, Surrey –
which is on sale at £70million. - METRO
27 March 2007
Hyde Park flats 'on sale for £84m'
Four flats overlooking Hyde Park are on
sale for a rumoured £84 million each, the highest price ever asked for a
British flat.
The flats are part
of a development at One Hyde Park, designed by Richard Rogers
Partnership. They will not be ready until 2010.
Sources said today that the four penthouse flats could
feature bullet proof windows, specially purified air and even "panic
rooms". The security system is believed to have been developed after
consultation with the SAS.
A tunnel will link the flats to the Mandarin Oriental
hotel, which will provide a concierge service for the development, which
contains 86 flats with prices starting at £4 million.
The complex will also have a spa, squash court and private
wine-tasting facility. According to the One Hyde Park website, the scheme is
"a new residential scheme whose beauty, luxury and prestige will place
it in a class of its own".
It is being managed by Candy & Candy, a development
management company specialising in high end luxury flats. Nick and Christian
Candy, the two brothers behind the company, hold the record for the current
most expensive flat in London, which was in Chelsea and had a £27 million
price tag.
Clients for the flats, some of which have already sold
off-plan, are expected
to include Arab princes and Russian oligarchs.
Flats at the development, on the site of the old 1950s
office block Bowater House, are being sold for as much as £4,200 per square
foot, a record for London. The four largest penthouses are 20,000 square
foot each.
A spokesman for Candy & Candy, which is a notoriously
secretive company, would not comment on the price tags or facilities of the
flats today.
"The facilities are being worked on all the time by
the team," she said. She added that the building "was designed to
bring the Park across to Knightsbridge".
The Richard Rogers design features four blocks made of
glass and red weathered steel. The record asking prices for the flats
reflect the latest boom in the London property market, which has
outperformed the rest of the British market this year.
Prices for homes in central London have risen by around 20
per cent this year.
Homes worth more than £5 million have outperformed even
that. Figures from Haart estate agents, published yesterday, showed that
demand in the capital remained strong even after the latest interest rate
rise.
The average London house price increased by 0.5 per cent
in January to £260,140 up from £258,568 in December, the group said.
January applicant numbers in Haart’s London branches
were up 30 per cent on the same time last year, reaching record levels.
The agency predicts that house prices in the capital are
predicted to rise by up to 8 per cent in 2007 as demand continues to
outstrip supply and activity levels remain strong.
- by Rosie Murray-West TELEGRAPH 8 February
2007
London
prime homes surge at record pace
2007 Feb 14: The
price of prime London homes rose at the fastest pace in at least 31 years in
January as wealthy European, Indian and Middle Eastern buyers competed for
houses and apartments in Belgravia and Knightsbridge.
Prices of houses in central London valued at about £3
million (S$8.9 million) and apartments costing more than £1.5 million rose
3 per cent in January, real estate broker Knight Frank said yesterday.
That's the biggest monthly gain since Knight Frank started its prime London
property index in 1976. 'It's the bosses rather than highly paid bankers who
are leading the way,' Liam Bailey, head of residential research at
London-based Knight Frank, said. 'There is no doubt that the key to the
price growth seen in Belgravia and Knightsbridge is international demand.'
International business people such as Lakshmi Mittal,
chairman of the world's largest steel company; Roman Abramovich, Russia's
richest man; and brewing heiress Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken have all
bought property here in recent years.
Luxury house prices in Belgravia and Knightsbridge rose 38
per cent in the year to January, while apartments gained 36 per cent in
value.
The number of people registered as looking to buy in the
three prime districts in southwest London was 37 per cent higher in January
than a year earlier while properties for sale hadn't risen so pushing up
prices, said Knight Frank.
Sales in the two districts are regularly exceeding
US$4,900 a square foot, said Mr Bailey. CB Richard Ellis Hamptons
International Ltd said in September that London was the most expensive city
in the world for prime real estate.
Prime Manhattan addresses on Fifth Ave, Park Ave and
Madison Ave near Central Park cost about US$1,870 a square foot, the company
said.
The 330,000 workers in London's main financial district
may have earned a record £8.8 billion in bonuses last year according to
the city's Centre for Economics and Business Research Ltd.
Prices for prime London properties rose by at least 2 per
cent a month in 11 of the last 12 months. -
Bloomberg February 2007
Tiny London apartment on sale for £335,000
Location, location, location. Almost
anywhere else, the tiny dilapidated studio wouldn't attract much more than
mice. But this is London and the 77-square-foot former storage room
— slightly bigger than a prison cell and without electricity — is going
for £335,000.
The closet-sized space in the exclusive
Knightsbridge neighborhood may be only "about the size of a ship's
galley, said real estate agent Andrew Scott, who's handling the sale.
"But it's permanently anchored to one of the wealthiest neighborhoods
in the world."
At more than £4,340 a square foot, the
mortgage buys a spot within walking distance of tony stores like Harrods and
London's iconic Hyde Park.
Originally conceived as a maid's room,
the apartment at 18 Cadogan Place hasn't been used for years and is littered
with trash bags and crumbling paint.
A coffin-sized shower is en suite, and
storage is provided by a shallow closet and 10-inch-deep shelves cut into
the wall. Two hot plates and a small sink make up the kitchen. Two dirty
windows allow light to filter into the basement room, and the fire escape
could conceivably double as a shared patio.
With no electricity or heating, Scott
said it would cost an additional £59,000 to make the room habitable.
"It is an investment," he said,
as he stretched his arms the width of the room, laying his palms flat on
opposite sides of the wall.
The sale of this dark, mildewy room
illustrates the astronomical rise in property values across London, which in
the past year has seen average residential property prices increase 22.4
percent, to about £703,000, according to figures released Monday by
Rightmove, which tracks the British property market.
Prices in London's most desirable
neighborhoods have grown even faster, with average house prices in the
borough of Kensington and Chelsea — where Cadogan Place is located —
rising 61.8 percent over the past year to a jaw-dropping £2.2 million.
Ultra high-end property prices in London
are the most expensive in the world, with some recent sales hitting £5,900
per square foot — making the Cadogan Place studio a bargain by comparison,
according to research published last year by CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.
Similar properties in New York can go for
about £5,300 per square foot, while those in Hong Kong sell at around £3,950
per square foot.
Scott said he already had three offers on
the property, which might go to auction. Size, he added, is in the "eye
of the beholder."
"If you thought of this as the cabin
on a boat, you'd say, 'It's pretty spacious,' " Scott said.
- AP 2007 January 31
January hike in UK home prices hits
3-year high
House-price inflation in the United Kingdom
reached the fastest pace in more than three years in January, led by London,
as record bonuses for bankers blunted the effect of interest-rate increases,
Hometrack Ltd said.
The cost of a home in England and Wales rose an
annual 6 per cent, the biggest increase since July 2003, to an average £170,800
(S$514,665), according to a survey of 3,500 real-estate agents, the
London-based property researcher said on Monday.
On the month, prices increased 0.4 per cent.
An £8.8 billion bonus round and a shortage of
homes have kept house prices rising, even after three interest-rate
increases by the Bank of England (BOE) to 5.25 per cent.
A basement in the London district of Chelsea the
size of a snooker table was put up for sale last week for £170,000.
'It's London - and certain bits of London - that
are making house prices appear so robust,' said Richard Donnell, Hometrack's
director of research, in an interview.
'The markets that are seeing growth are the ones
that are driven by bonus money. The people that are driving it are less
sensitive to interest-rate increases.' he added.
Prices in the London area rose 0.8 per cent from
December, Hometrack said.
In all other regions, gains were 0.3 per cent or
less, apart from the East Midlands, where price growth stalled.
London, which accounts for 17 per cent of the
United Kingdom's economy, will have price gains of 7 per cent this year,
compared with 4 per cent for the country as a whole, Mr Donnell said.
'In London and the southeast we'll see a lack of
supply keeping an upward pressure on prices,' he pointed out.
A basement room in London measuring six feet by 12
feet, which real-estate agents Lane Fox described as the smallest property
to be offered for sale in the UK, has received three offers.
The flat is at 18 Cadogan Place in Chelsea, a West
London district with the country's priciest homes, populated by film stars
such as Hugh Grant.
BOE policy makers said at their Jan 10-11 meeting
they considered whether the high price of assets, including houses, may fuel
inflation.
They judged there was 'some risk' of that
happening.
Investors are betting on the central bank raising
the benchmark interest rate once more this quarter. The implied rate on the
March contract was 5.73 on Jan 26 as of 3.15pm in London.
The contract settles to the three-month London
interbank offered rate for the pound, which averaged about 15 basis points
more than the bank's benchmark rate over the past decade. - Bloomberg
2007 January 30
London bankers buying life of
luxury
About 4,200 bankers in the City will
pocket bonuses of more than £1 million each
When
you're a London banker with more than a million dollars in bonus money to
burn, the yachts, James Bond cars and luxury homes are yours for the taking.
Britain's financial elite are prowling
penthouses, visiting exclusive shops and considering the possibilities for
spending the £17.3 billion (S$52.5 billion) bonus pot that a blazing hot
market has earned them this year.
Sales of million-pound London houses and
flats are already booming, and the bonus bonanza for merchant bankers and
traders at global powerhouses like Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Lehman
Brothers is expected to drive demand through the roof.
International real estate sales company
Knight Frank said in a report available from its offices and entitled Rich
City that the market for the type of London residences sought by bankers is
expected to see the strongest growth in 2007.
'The super-prime market (US$4 million
plus) is significantly out-performing the overall London market,' it said.
'This boom is forecast to continue into 2007, with year-end bonuses for
London's financial elite estimated to increase.'
Housing in the capital is not the only
sector soaking up chunks of big money from bankers in the square mile of
London and its satellite enclave in Canary Wharf collectively known as 'The
City'.
Shiny new Ferraris, Porsches, Aston
Martins and other expensive cars piloted by well-heeled new owners have been
roaring along the streets of London's financial districts every morning
since bonus season began.
Pendragon, Plc - Europe's largest
automotive retail group - said its prestige car division Stratstone has seen
growing interest in Ferraris, Range Rovers and the Aston Martins made famous
by James Bond over the December to March bonus season.
'The two hot cars at the moment are the
Aston Martin V-8 and Range Rover Sport,' Pendragon chief executive Trevor
Finn said on Friday.
Punters at the recent London Boat Show
pored over the multi-million-pound yachts on display, checking out the
hot-tubs, cabins and considering where best to keep the champagne cold on a
sail around the sunny Mediterranean. 'To buy one of these boats is quite
simple,' said Brian Peters, chairman of Peters-Opal, one of Europe's largest
retailers of luxury motor yachts and sailing boats. 'You just write a
cheque.'
Those sentiments may have been on the
mind of Joel Plasco, the chief executive of London stockbroker Collins
Stewart. His company sponsored the boat show and as he admired one of the
biggest yachts at the show last week he looked thoughtful. 'I don't have a
yacht,' he said.
Music and film lovers are also splashing
out on high quality systems for home entertainment,
Sales staff at a shop for luxury
electronic goods maker Bang & Olufsen said one customer spent 45,000 in
a single visit on a 65-inch plasma-screen TV, state-of-the-art speakers and
a few other big-ticket items. 'We are expecting great things,' said Bang
& Olufsen sales consultant Richard Makings.
About 4,200 bankers in the City will
pocket bonuses of more than £1 million each, according to an estimate from
the Centre of Economics and Business Research.
A recent report published by Heartwood
Wealth Management found that 46 per cent of City workers who anticipated
receiving a bonus this year plan to spend it all.
Many high-end retailers have seen more
window-shopping than frenzied purchasing. They reckon that visitors who
don't buy just haven't seen the cash land in their accounts yet.
Tulsi Rao, a gemologist at fine jeweller
David M Robinson, said she anticipates more customers like the one who
bought a £34,000 watch from her more than a week ago. 'People are waiting
for their payments for bonuses,' she said, 'are researching ... as soon as
they get the cash they'll come in and buy.'
But one trader for a well-known US
investment bank and out celebrating at a champagne bar with chums did sound
a note of caution about the inevitable end to such a long boom. 'It may
never happen again,' he said. 'So put it in the bank.' -
Reuters
2007 January 22
