How are London’s Prime Green Spaces Impacting Property Demand?

With 3,000 parks and 35,000 acres of public open space the British capital stakes a persuasive claim to be one of the leafiest cities in the world. 

Indeed a recent survey by Time Out found that 87 per cent of its residents were happy with London’s green space and access to nature – only Medellin, Columbia, and Boston, USA, scored higher.

Open space improves our mental and physical health and close proximity to a great quality park is regularly high on the wish list of buyers looking for a property in the British capital.

How do parks and green space impact London house prices?

Research by estate agent Savills found that homes within 100m of a park or common in inner London cost on average 15 per cent more than those further away. This green space premium has increased by 6.3 per cent in the last decade. 

Proximity to green space is a particularly prized property asset in Prime Central London, where most local housing stock is apartments.

The premium to live close to Grosvenor Square Gardens in Mayfair is the biggest in London – a resounding 584 per cent compared to homes across the borough Homes around Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea cost 360 per cent more than those further away. And easy access to Green Park, which straddles Mayfair and St James comes with a 263 per cent premium, found Savills.

Further out of central London there is a wider choice of family houses with gardens. But still buyers feel the call of the wild – and will pay handsomely for the privilege of living near to a good park. The premium to live near Barnes Green, in south west London, stands at 45 per cent, while a home close to Hampton Court Park in Richmond costs more than double the price of a home further afield. 

The types of buyers looking for green space proximity

The pandemic taught most of us a valuable and long-term lesson about the importance of open space in our daily routines, and that means most buyers are keen to find a home close to a good park.

For younger buyers living in flats – perhaps alongside a grown-up lockdown puppy – a park is a valuable extension to their home life, a place to walk, run, cycle, entertain friends at a picnic, or just relax with a book. Younger buyers like their parks to come with extras like tennis or padel courts, outdoor gyms, and running tracks, and parks with sports clubs offer them a chance to make local friends in their new neighbourhoods. 

Downsizers are another category of buyer who yearns for open space, particularly if they have given up a beloved garden for a more urban way of life but don’t want to feel cooped up. These buyers also like “busy” parks with sports facilities will help keep them trim and active, and they have the time to spend exploring new hobbies.

But it is families which seem to make the most of their local parks. Playgrounds are fantastic fun for children – and a great meeting spot for mums and nannies – and children love the opportunity burn off some of their limitless energy running around.

Exploring London’s hidden green spaces

The capital’s eight Royal Parks are world famous tourist attractions in their own right.

But in the Victorian era hundreds of magnificent but lesser known public parks were created, from Dulwich Park, in south east London, with its outdoor gym, boating lake, and sculptures, to Battersea Park, in the south west, which is prized for its Thames views, its zoo, and its on site art gallery. Active children can be kept entertained by hiring a pedalo and taking them out on the lake or at the Go Ape tree top rope walkways, and if you feel your family needs a four legged friend Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is close by. 

Everyone knows Hampstead Heath but for something a little different residents of North London consider Highgate Wood an underrated gem, a swathe of ancient woodland which is home to 70 different species of birds. 

And even at its most urban London’s parks have the ability to surprise you. There can hardly be a landscape in London more vertical than Canary Wharf, and yet a short walk to the south you will find the 32 acre Mudchute Park and Farm, where sheep and goats graze in the shadow of skyscrapers, you can brunch at the excellent on site café, and there are child-led play sessions every weekend.

London’s most sought-after green spaces

It is no coincidence that the neighbourhoods which encircle Hyde Park – a 350-acre Royal Park established by King Henry VIII as a hunting ground almost 600 years ago – are collectively known as Prime Central London.

The residents of blue chip addresses in Mayfair, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill, and Bayswater use the park as an extension of their homes and not only is it lovely to look at but extremely user friendly, with loads to do. There is a great variety of sporting facilities, from horse riding to open water swimming, plus an art gallery, a programme of world class live music, and a fantastic Christmas festival.

Many people think that Hyde Park is central London’s largest park but that title is actually held by the 410-acre Regent’s Park. It also has a very full complement of sports facilities, and it does not hurt that the white stucco villas that surround it are amongst the most beautiful houses in London.

Honourable mention must go to Hampstead Heath, a 790 acre behemoth of green space – get lost along its tracks and woodland and you truly feel you are in the heart of the countryside. People have been moving to Hampstead to live close to the Heath since the 17th century, when it emerged as a popular spa town. Many locals still swear by a swim in one of its ponds.

Another neighbourhood which has been defined by its  open space is “between the commons”, the nickname for the grid of mostly Victorian streets which lie between  Clapham and Wandsworth commons in south west London. Between the commons is hugely popular with the family market because not only is it leafy but local schools are great, central London and the City are an easy commute away, and Northcote Road provides a fashionable central street full of cafes, boutiques, and restaurants. 

How a buying agent helps match locations to buyers

Not all parks are equal, and it takes really forensic knowledge of London’s individual neighbourhoods to pinpoint which will work for you no matter how specific your requirements. Work in finance but secretly consider yourself a hipster? Base yourself in Victoria Park village, a lovely enclave of homes handy for the City and on the fringes of a park which is filled with bright young things on sunny days. 

A culture vulture who wants to be away from the tourist hordes? Holland Park combines quiet streets with superlative open space which hosts an acclaimed summer opera season (plus the Design Museum, Leighton House, and the Serpentine Gallery are all within walking distance).

A family obsessed with wildlife? Get yourself out to Barnes, south west London, where you will find the WWT London Wetland Centre, as well as spacious period houses, and some of London’s top performing schools.

Black Brick are local experts with unrivalled experience of London’s prime property market. Get in touch with your requirements using our simple form, or simply call us on 020 3141 9861 to take your property search to the next step.