How I Made It

Camilla Dell

The Sunday Times

DIVING INTO THE PROPERTY GAME WAS BIG GAMBLE

House hunting for wealthy business people and foreign multi-millionaires is no easy job. One couple wanted a £10m house perfect for a chihuahua, “with no balcony and the right outside space”, while some superstitious buyers would only consider addresses with numbers “that didn’t mean death”.

It pays well, though. Camilla Dell’s property agency, Black Brick, which she set up in 2007 using £20,000 of savings, made a pre-tax profit of £1.6m on sales of £3.1m last year.

After working for the upmarket estate agents Knight Frank and Foxtons, Dell decided that finding homes for a fee could work as a standalone business, rather than just being a service offered by the chains.

Black Brick helps investors and companies, as well as individuals, find homes in London and southeast England, negotiates a price, and closes the deal for them. It does not own properties, or handle the listings.

Dell recently helped a member of a Middle Eastern royal family to buy a £55m mansion, and a Bollywood actress has just signed up for her services. It is not just the super-rich who come to her, though. Recent buys include a two-bedroom flat costing £374,000.

About 60% of customers are from the Middle East, Russia, India and America. Critics have accused property buying agents of fuelling the surge in so-called ghost homes in London. Last week the mayor, Sadiq Khan, called for local authorities to be able to raise the council tax on properties left vacant.

“There’s a misconception that buying agents are only for the very wealthy and for people who are going to buy homes here and leave them empty,” said Dell, 39. “We’ve got our oligarchs, but we’ve also got very normal people.”

She said that less than 5% of the properties bought by Black Brick were ghost homes. “We’ve never been a volume business. We don’t have to pump out hundreds of deals to survive.”

Clients pay an upfront, one-off registration fee of £3,000. If Black Brick seals a deal, it gets 2.5% of the final price or 20% of what it manages to save customers by negotiating a lower price.

Dell, the managing partner, grew up in Hampstead, northwest London, as the youngest of three children. Her father, a property developer, died when she was 9. Her mother, an Israeli former model, was a “lady of leisure”.

Dell was a boarder at Cobham Hall, a private girls’ school in Kent. She qualified as a scuba-diving instructor at 18 and studied marine biology at Newcastle University. Once she graduated in 1999, she worked behind the scenes at the broadcasters Tyne Tees and Granada. After a year she moved to Egypt to teach scuba diving, but returned following the 2001 terrorist attacks. “The number of tourists just dropped off,” she said.

Dell spent the next six years climbing the ranks at Foxtons and Knight Frank before striking out on her own, not without some trepidation. “I had sleepless nights setting up Black Brick and coming off the payroll.”

She started hiring after six months and by the end of the year had tied up sales of £1m. Today the business, based in Mayfair, has nine staff. Dell is the sole owner, and does not rule out an exit if “someone makes an offer you can’t refuse”.

Dell lives in Hampstead with her husband, Jeremy, 49, and daughters Sydney, 5, and Sukie, 2. Her advice for new bosses is to put in long hours: “I don’t believe in shortcuts. You have to learn and understand your industry.”

Four beds good, five beds bad.

THE GUIDE

Jayne Dowle

Unable to sell your home? Some families do not want five or more bedrooms

People swoon when you tell them that you’re selling a five-bedroom house. How lovely, they say. Think of the space for children, the potential for guests. However, Britain’s “ideal home” for buyers now has just 3.5 bedrooms, according to the property website Zoopla. With the market in some areas almost static, sellers are forced to face a counterintuitive fact: abundant bedrooms can be a curse.

Would a four-bedroom-plus-study property sell better than a five-bedroom family home? Yes, says Anne-Marie Desborough, of Dexters estate agency in Richmond upon Thames. “I would say that the optimum number of bedrooms is three or four. Your average Richmond family has two children, so five or six bedrooms seems a little wasteful.”

Hugh Blake, an associate partner at Carter Jonas in Cambridge, says affordability is a determining factor nationwide. “All too often, the vendors of five and six-bedroom homes are too ambitious in what they think their property is worth. In the current market overpricing is an immediate deterrent to buyers, who simply aren’t prepared to overstretch themselves.

Create a space suitable to let that can generate an income if advertised on Airbnb.

“When it comes to larger properties, the pounds per square foot value is largely determined by the first 2,500 sq ft. This is elevated by a good-sized main reception room, kitchen, and four generous bedrooms; the fifth and sixth bedrooms contribute to a fraction of a property’s overall value.”

There is also the question of perception. Are buyers really looking for a certain number of bedrooms — or rather a house of particular dimensions?

“Since all the houses now have floor plans, the gross internal floor area has become much more important to buyers than number of bedrooms,” says Giles Lawton, a partner at Strutt & Parker in Oxford. “In the old days buyers would say they wanted five bedrooms, but what they meant was they needed three rooms to sleep in and two studies, or a house of a certain size.”

So what can you do to present an “over-bedroomed” home in the best light?

Four, five or six?

You must establish what is attractive to your target buyers. As Martin Bikhit, the managing director at the estate agency Kay & Co, points out, prime central London and grander parts of the home counties still attract buyers looking for a large number of bedrooms. Stock is low, so appeal is enhanced.

He says that fewer than 30 properties are for sale in W1 with five-plus bedrooms. “When one does become available it often gets snapped up quickly as wealthy individuals seek homes that can accommodate family members and staff.”

In rural areas too, such as Yorkshire, the Cotswolds and Cornwall, agents report that farmhouses and period properties with five or six bedrooms are perennial favourites with professional families and relocating buyers.

Cedar bedroom cupboard by Plain English, from £5,000

However, in popular “town” locations, four bedrooms is optimal, five at the most. “Buyers in Oxford tend to want just one extra bedroom that can be used as a guest room, rather than lots of extra rooms,” says William Kirkland, a partner at Knight Frank in the university city. “It’s a question of balance, however. They still want space to grow as they are likely to be borrowing, paying stamp duty land tax and therefore won’t want to move for a long time if they can help it.”

Too many bedrooms? Or not enough bathrooms?

It could be that rather than having too many bedrooms, you don’t have enough bathrooms. If there is only one “family bathroom” in a five-bedroom house, it makes sense to turn the smallest bedroom into an extra bathroom or en suite. For instance, a small middle bedroom can be transformed into a super-useful “Jack and Jill” bathroom with access from each adjoining sleeping area.

“Add an actual bath if possible,” says Rupert Carr, a director at the Kensington estate agency Milton Stone.

Other suggestions include a study, or two, as more people work from home. “A spare room might also convert to a media or entertainment room, or a light room can create an excellent art studio or workshop,” says James Way, a partner at Knight Frank in

Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire

Victoria Harrison, the editor of the home renovation and design platform Houzz recommends creating a yoga studio or meditation space. A gym could be a good investment, but the heavy equipment makes this best-suited to a ground-floor bedroom.

Camilla Dell, the managing partner at Black Brick, a buying agency, likes the idea of incorporating a kitchenette into a top-floor bedroom to create a contained area for teenagers. Blake adds: “We would also recommend converting a boxy fifth bedroom into a walk-in wardrobe with lighting and shelving. This may be done for less than £1,000.”

The home-search expert Carol Peett, at West Wales Property Finders in Pembrokeshire, has the ultimate solution. “If your house has five-plus bedrooms that buyers are put off by, turn this around by creating a space suitable to let and sell it as somewhere that can generate an income from advertising on Airbnb.”

Keep overall balance in your home

Open-plan living has blown apart the old theories on the most desirable ratio of bedrooms to reception rooms. However, it’s important to ensure that the flow and space available for various functions convinces buyers. To achieve this Jamie Hope, the managing director at Maskells, suggests turning an extra bedroom with decent proportions into an elegant first-floor drawing room.

Or follow the new-build sector and consider creating a family room, as Neil Simpson, the sales and marketing director at Bewley Homes, suggests: “Homeowners [want] to utilise upstairs bedroom space as dedicated family or play rooms. This is so much the case that one of our house types in Witney, Oxfordshire, features a large first-floor room dressed as a family room, but it could just as easily be utilised as a master or twin bedroom.”

Bear in mind the arrangement of rooms. If you wish to keep a guest room, is it in the right place? “Ideally the master needs to be close to the children’s bedrooms, with number four as the guest/spare room,” says Alex Newall, the managing director at Barnes International.

Even smaller homes can suffer from bedroom issues, adds Blake. “If a three-bedroom house is sticking, it could be good to combine the second and third bedrooms into one super space.”

Must-haves to maximise appeal

Space and storage are key. “Beds have increased in size, so a master bedroom must now be large enough to accommodate a superking with ease,” says Peett. “Another reason why it can be better to knock two bedrooms into one.”

Add large wardrobes, bring in a dressing table and, if an en suite is not feasible, include a vintage washstand with sink and cupboard space instead.

Indulge at your peril

For the total wow factor it could be tempting to transform a superfluous bedroom into an open-plan master suite, with freestanding bath and lavatory.

This may be the epitome of glamour in a boutique hotel room, but it will add nothing to your home’s resale value, warns James Robinson, of the London mews specialist agency Lurot Brand. “Unless your bedroom is palatial avoid the bath in bedroom idea — and trust me when I say the only time an open-plan WC is acceptable is in a prison cell.”

London’s Residential Squares: How Much Does it Really Cost to Live There?

We explore the past and future of London’s residential garden squares, how much it costs to live on one and one woman’s campaign to regenerate hers.

Words Nigel Lewis

London’s garden squares are much loved by the people who work or live around them, usually as somewhere to snatch a lunchtime sandwich or maybe to enjoy a sun-soaked afternoon.

They have cultural value too; author PD Smith recently described them as the “capital’s greatest contribution to the development of urban form” even though, technically, we stole the idea off the Italians.

The resulting 300-plus garden squares within London come in different flavours ranging from the historic, such as Grays Inn Square, to the more common Regency and Victorian ones the loveliest of which arguably are Russell Square and Soho Square.

And let’s not forget the super-prime ones; rarefied pockets of greenery surrounded by Regency splendour such as Cadogan, Belgravia or Eaton Square. And which cost millions to overlook.

“Our data shows that in the last 18 months, the average price paid per sq. ft. in Eaton Square was £4,113,” says Camilla Dell of property finding firm Black Brick.

“When we compared this to nearby Eaton Place, buyers paid an average of £2,404 per sq. ft. That is a whopping 42% premium to be on Eaton Square.”

Square Roots

Equally expensive is London’s first purpose-built garden square, Southampton Square, now called Bloomsbury Square and built by the 4th Early of Southampton during the 1650s.

“The gardens in most London squares have been for the benefit of and maintained by the residents since their inception, with evidence dating from the late-17th Century of a levy afforded upon residents for the upkeep of ‘rayles, payles, fountain and garden’,” says agent Martin Bikhit of of Kay & Co.

“In the Jane Austin novel Emma”, Mr and Mrs. Knightley are discussing the notoriously bad air in London and, when asked why they have remained near New Brunswick Street they retort that the garden square in which they live is unlike the rest of London and “so very airey!”.

And later builders in Londoners also saw their ‘airey’ plus-points. Take for example the more concrete squares created by post-war town planners. Or more recent versions, much beloved of builders these days who are often hoping to add the spice of space to their developments.

It’s not a surprise that squares should hold such enduring appeal. Since the 17th century, as London’s dirt, noise and congestion has waxed and waned, so squares have remained a tranquil place of respite.

“To have a flat or house in central London overlooking beautifully kept gardens and trees is one of the most desired amenities and therefore it is no surprise that having a view adds hugely to property values,” says Merlin Dormer of buying agency Heaton & Partners.

“Garden squares are one of the defining features of London and they also have some of the most sought-after properties, even influencing modern developments like Chelsea Barracks, which will incorporate its own garden squares.

“If you look at statistics for the highest prices paid per square foot in prime central London it is almost always a property with a green view.”

Garden Squares

Sutherland House on Eaton Square, £11.95 million with Aylesford International (020 7351 2383).

Narendra Gandi of Winkworth says that in his experience squares are treasured because they are an important way to bring residents together, whether it’s just to say hello and gossip, or to hold community summer parties.

“Given the choice of a concrete ‘jungle’ or a ‘garden square’, I know most people’s choice would be the latter,” he says.

New Squares

London’s newest one is Packington Square in Islington (pictured, below), part of a £170m development of 600 apartments by Hyde New Homes and Rydon which will see two further squares built nearby later on.

Spokesperson Minnie Dando says this development’s squares are all about community. “We have been careful to maintain the traditional community concept of the housing estate set up on the exact same spot in 1563 by Dame Anne Packington to provide accommodation for the Clothworker’s Company,” she says.

London’s most famous square residents are Tony and Cherie Blair, who live on Connaught Square in Bayswater. Opposite their house agent Marti Bikhit has a similar property to theirs for sale for £7.5 million.

“Connaught Square was the first square of houses to be built in the Bayswater area,” he says. “Named after the Duke of Gloucester – The Earl of Connaught – the square dates to the 1820s.”

Martin says Montagu Square in Marylebone is the only remaining square in Westminster which is wholly residential and has proven highly popular with US buyers who love the quintessential English architecture.

Garden Squares

But away from these bastions of wealth are less salubrious affairs, but equally of note. For example, Globe Town Market square in Tower Hamlets is unlikely to have been high on the Blairs’ wish list, but it should have been.

Nearby resident and business owner Kerry Mounsley who owns ethical clothing business Very Kerry is running a campaign to raise funds to be matched by The Mayor of London’s Crowdfund London campaign, which gives grants of up to £50,000 to regeneration projects like hers.

Kerry wants to turn the tired and usually litter-strewn area into ‘Rainbow Square’ in part by creating a multi-coloured umbrella roof for the square (see before and after pix below).

“The plan is, with the participation of locals to turn the space into a vibrant and colourful hub of community-oriented activities, as well as regaining appeal with traders and their customers, its original purpose,” she says.

But the most famous square in London has not been mentioned yet. Parliament Square. It too underwent an attempted re-birth back in 2008, just in time for plans to be scrapped after the financial crisis hit.

The planned redesign would have seen half the roundabout taken out and replaced with a Trafalgar Square-style open space that would be a “new tourist destination for London”. Sadly, the plans were never revived. Let’s hope Rainbow Square fares better.

Black Brick triples turnover to GBP3m

14/08/2017

Buying agency Black Brick celebrated a record year in 2016, tripling its turnover to GBP3million. The company attributes its success to buyers seeking honest, impartial advice, about where best to invest their money during a time of market uncertainty in London.

The average purchase price in 2016 was GBP6.8 million, while, despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the average purchase price so far in 2017 is GBP4.4 million.

Camilla Dell, Managing Partner at Black Brick, says: “We are delighted to have achieved record growth in 2016. Those looking to buy a London property have been left confused as they try to evaluate the best timing, location and investment opportunities available. This, combined with the range of ways to buy such as off-market, via an estate agent, online and at auction, along with market uncertainty, has driven discerning buyers to us, as we are able to advise them and ensure that they make the right investment decision.”

2017 has seen similar success for Black Brick, with the company already reaching its predicted targets, just four months into its new financial year and whilst market uncertainty continues, the company anticipates its growth to continue as many try to navigate the London property market.

Fifty seven per cent of transactions undertaken by Black Brick in 2017 have been by those intending to use their residence as a primary home; a figure which has almost doubled when compared with the previous year, which saw 29 per cent of properties bought for the same purpose. Fourteen per cent of properties purchased in 2017 were to be used as a secondary home, a considerable reduction when compared with 2016, which saw 47 per cent of properties purchased for this reason. This drop in people buying second homes is contributed Stamp Duty Land Tax and the additional 3 per cent in tax which people have to spend on a second home or buy to let.

Dell adds: “Brexit is expected to take up to five years to fully transition and stamp duty has caused a reduction in transactions in prime central London. Those who need to be in London are still buying, but those who don’t need to buy are waiting to see what happens before they commit to investing.”

The latest figures from Black Brick also showed that 14 per cent have purchased a property in London as a buy to let investment in 2017, a 4 per cent drop when compared with transactions in 2016 and a further 14 per cent bought a property for education purposes or for their children, 8 per cent higher than the previous year, which saw just 6 per cent of purchases for this purpose.

The choice of investment location has also shifted. 38 per cent of transactions undertaken by Black Brick in Q1 and Q2 2017 were off market; a 10 per cent rise from the previous year, with buyers spending an average of GBP15.85 million on their off-market property.

Those who purchased on-market in 2017 sought properties in SW1, W8, NW3, W1, W12 and SW3. This is a contrast to 2016, which saw buyers purchase properties across a broader range of London postcodes including N1, EC2, SW1, W8, W1 and SE13. Camilla added: “Buyers are seeking safe investment and prime London’s golden postcodes will always remain a good long term investment with strong potential for capital growth.”

Buyers are also saving more by using the buying agency. On average, purchasers saved 6.85 per cent on their purchase in 2016, however, those who have bought in 2017 have saved an average of 8.25 per cent on their purchase.

Dell adds: “Now is absolutely the time to buy property in London. People are saving more and spending less and with the favourable exchange rate, this is also the ideal for international investors to save thousands on their purchase.”

Black Brick have also performed more rental searches for their clients, with 20 per cent using the company’s rental search service this year, a 14 per cent rise compared with 2016.

Dell says: “We have experienced a rise in clients using our rental search service as some wish to ascertain whether they are buying in the right area and want to ensure that they are making the correct investment choice. Making a mistake, or buying a property which isn’t quite right for them, can be a costly when taking into consideration the stamp duty charges that they will incur if they move.”

Buying agency secures Park Lane base for ‘London’s most prestigious vault’

Buying agency secures Park Lane base for ‘London’s most prestigious vault’

Prime Resi

Unusual off-market acquisition next to the Dorchester…

Mayfair buying agency Black Brick has just finalised an interesting acquisition on Park Lane.In a departure from high-end house and apartment sourcing, the firm dug deep to secure an off-market bank vault next to the Dorchester for the South African owner of IBV International Vaults, Ashok Sewnarain, who has plans for a super-luxe storage concept.

The 2,077 square foot subterranean space, formerly leased to Barclays Bank, has been secured on a long lease of 19 years at a passing rent of £172,500 per annum, with a rent-free period to allow for a “luxurious” refurbishment.

IBV will be launching the offering in November as “London’s most prestigious vault”, aimed at HNWIs looking to store their jewels, gold and priceless belongings.

“Guests” will be collected in a chauffeur driven car and driven to the high security premises, where they will enter an “opulent” entrance, complete with a 24 carat gold flecked pavement, and meet one of the firm’s representatives. 3,300 safety boxes will be available in total, and the company also plans to sell gold bars and precious metals from the site.

Camilla Dell, Managing Partner at Black Brick: “As a buying agency which specialises in residential property, this was a very unusual deal for us, made possible by our excellent connections as the vault was only available off-market. Our client operates IBV vaults in across several locations across South Africa but was keen to expand into London, where he could offer his VIP service to the world’s elite.

“The vault is set to become the most prestigious and luxurious in London and marks a growing trend for discerning individuals to store their precious jewels and personal items.”

Barclays sold another of its vaults off in 2016 to Chinese Bank ICBC who needed somewhere to store £57 billion of gold bullion. The location remains a secret…

Super-prime storage has been in the news already this year; In January, high-spec property developer Amazon delivered a 10,000 square foot, £30m, three-storey underground super-prime storage facility for the most valuable of valuables, located 40 feet beneath Great Portland Street.

The Armitage Vaults are “the capital’s answer to Fort Knox”, said the developer, which has spent five years on the project. They offer high net worth types somewhere hyper-secure and quite plush to leave anything from artworks, jewels and wine to documents, luggage and ski paraphernalia, on either a short- or long-let basis. And there’s not a bulk-buy offer on packing boxes in sight.

Amazon’s new ‘Armitage Vaults’ are located 40 feet beneath Great Portland Street.

internationalvaults.com

Strategies to survive a price slowdown

Spooked by forecasts of a market fall? Keep calm and take the chance to find your dream home

Francesca Steele

The debate continues about the future of the housing market, with one economist forecasting disaster, while others believe that the average property price will rise this year. These predictions come as house price indices provide evidence of a slowdown. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics and the Land Registry show that average house prices rose by 4.1 per cent in the year to March, the slowest pace of growth since October 2013.

In London, particularly in the prime sector, there has been a marked shift in price gains. The most recent index from Nationwide shows annual growth falling to 1.2 per cent in the capital, the second slowest pace of the 13 UK regions and the weakest rate of growth since 2012.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, says a squeeze on household incomes and the country’s uncertain economic and political outlook is to blame. Lucian Cook, the head of Savills residential research, says: “We are expecting a weaker market driven by needs-based buyers, who are less likely to compromise. The best insurance against a weaker market is to avoid properties that are blighted, for example, by road or aircraft noise, or where a garden is too small for the size of the house. I’d also recommend buying in the best location you can afford.”

Here, we list what you can do to future-proof your home in case of a slowdown.

Flight to quality Agents are seeing a flight to quality in town and the country. The properties that sell quickly do not have “abnormal quirks”, says Nick Whitten, the director of residential research at JLL, the property company. “Safer house purchases come down to the perception of an area and future stability. Factors to consider include schools, public transport, employment, vibrant local shops and services, proximity to green spaces, safety and overall attractiveness of an area.”

He says the best properties and locations are those with the broadest appeal. For example, if you move to an area because the local school is rated outstanding, what happens to your house price if the school loses that rating? “If your street is ten minutes from excellent transport links as well as a desirable school, a rating change would be less problematic,” Whitten says.

Location, location, location Whitten highlights York and Abingdon as locations where prices are likely to remain stable. Limited older and desirable housing stock, good transport links and popular shopping and cultural activities maintain the popularity of these places. Market towns and houses within easy reach of them are typically stable, even in a downturn, he says.

Ben Pridden, the residential director at Savills, agrees that York is a good location, predicting a five-year growth of 25.9 per cent despite a loss in the past three months of 0.7 per cent. “York ticks all the boxes; aesthetics, connections to London and Leeds, the northern finance centre, great schools, a university, and we even have a racecourse. It’s proved a resilient market, with a deep strand of equity, and more than half our clients are cash buyers. Being a medieval city, restricted by its old walls, York has few Georgian and Victorian streets, so homes there are always sought-after.”

Winchester and Edinburgh are other locations where demand is likely to remain high because of what is on offer, despite prices not rising as much as in the most popular markets, such as London and Oxford.

Buy in a city JLL has noticed a “trend towards urbanisation” being driven by regeneration in city centres such as Manchester, and suburbs such as Solihull in Birmingham. “Historically our biggest cities weren’t very residential,” says Whitten. “The population of Manchester city centre was about 10,000 people in 2000, and 17 years later it’s about 55,000, because so much has been built around the canals and the university. People want to be closer to jobs and culture. Whether you’re an owner-occupier or an investor, city centres feel a safe bet.”

Similarly, Solihull, listed in 2013 as the top place to live in Britain in a quality-of-life index conducted by Uswitch.com, has benefited from the regeneration of Birmingham city centre and Midlands transport improvements. Solihull railway station gets commuters to Birmingham Moor Street station in under ten minutes. JLL predicts a five-year house price growth of 28 per cent in Manchester city centre and 22 per cent in Solihull over the next five years, compared with a UK average of 13 per cent.

Depending on your budget, it may be worth considering somewhere yet to rise. Places where the transport links are nearly in place, such as Crossrail locations in and near London, are a good option. JLL predicts price increases for Woolwich in southeast London, while Jo Eccles, the managing director of SP Property Group, recommends Ealing, Acton and Northfields in west London for family homes.

“You can still buy a superb family house for less than £1 million and there are excellent state schools in the area. Once Crossrail opens, property will be in high demand here,” Eccles says.

Camilla Dell, the managing partner at the independent property buying agency Black Brick, warns about what should remain off-limits, even in up-and-coming areas. “Try to avoid flats higher than the first or second floor without a lift, ground and lower-ground floor flats, which suffer from damp or low levels of light, and properties far from public transport and shops.”

The devil is in the detail Alex Newall, the managing director of Barnes Private Office, says there is a flight towards quality, which is evident in every cycle. “Deals are still happening — we’ve just made a £30 million residential sale in central London — but buyers are less prepared to compromise. Our clients say the house must be spot-on to part with their hard-earned cash.”

The title must be “squeaky clean”, Newall says, meaning that you must know exactly what you own and what that ownership entails. “The classic error is finding the pathway you think you own is public land, or the old rectory, where you’re responsible for paying for the church roof next door. We have a case where the people who bought two flats hoping to put them together found they don’t own the slim void between the two properties.” Read everything carefully and stay on top of your conveyancers.

Plan for the future If you’re not moving, you can increase the appeal of your property should you choose to sell in future. “Build in hope value,” says Newall. Get planning permission for an extension and fix old electrics. Surprisingly, this may be the most important selling point in luxury properties, where buyers often want to install the latest systems and can only do so if the wiring is up to scratch.

Hold that thought: inside the ‘national scandal’ of leasehold properties

April 13, 2017

Hold that thought: inside the ‘national scandal’ of leasehold properties

By Frankie Crossley

Over 75 per cent of apartments in Hampstead are leasehold, whilst investors are cashing in by buying up freeholds in new builds throughout the capital. Here’s what you need to know about owning a leasehold property in north London

Do you really own your own home? The UK’s official rate of homeownership has fallen from 72 per cent in 2003, to 64.6 per cent in 2014. Excluding leasehold properties that are not legally owned by owner-occupiers, the true rate is 58.9 per cent, just 0.9 per cent higher than in 1981. In Hampstead and Kilburn 76.6 per cent of apartments are leasehold, according to the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, 2014.

‘Homes Held Hostage’, a new HomeOwners Alliance report illuminates a lack of consumer understanding and malpractice in the sale of leasehold tenures, with under half of flats listed by agents clearly displaying the status of the tenure. Leasehold properties are now ubiquitous in the capital, with the number of new builds sold as leasehold almost doubling since 1996 to 43 per cent. 42 per cent of leaseholders surveyed did not know the time remaining on their leases.

“Unscrupulous and avaricious actors within the property industry are using sharp leasehold practices to line their own pockets and fleece householders,” says Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance.

The report hits out at agents who fail to display the tenure offered and the length of the lease. It found that across 100 flats listed on a property search website, only 24 per cent of adverts placed were specific about the length of time left on leases.

“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that many estate agents are themselves ignorant about leasehold and fail to inform and educate their customers properly,” said Higgins.

One problem with a short lease is that lenders might not lend on a property that has fewer than 50 years left.

“Never rely on an estate agents estimate on what a lease extension might cost you,” advises Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick Property Solutions. Her advice is to ensure to ask estate agents what the length of the lease is.

“It’s the estate agents job to accurately state this, along with the service charge and ground rent on the sales particulars,” she explains.

So what is all the fuss about? Leasehold tenures are sold as a lease from the freeholder to use a property for a number of years. Leaseholders pay an annual ground rent, maintenance fees, service charges and buildings insurance. ‘Ownership’ is undercut since permission from the landlord often has to be granted to own pets, sublet rooms or make changes to the property.

“It is a national scandal,” says Sebastian O’Kelly of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership.

“No other home owners in any jurisdiction are so disempowered as those buying leasehold property in England and Wales – the only jurisdiction in the world that has it.” Even in Scotland, leasehold is a rare phenomenon, but in London the market is booming.

There are currently 5 million occupied leasehold flats and maisonettes in England and Wales, meaning that young buyers who often occupy them are disproportionately affected. In contrast, there are just 432,820 owner-occupied leasehold houses. There are currently 1.144 million privately-owned, owner-occupied leasehold flats or maisonettes where a share of the freehold is not held by the leaseholder.

The government has recognised the need to tackle the issue of leaseholder abuse, so far with little progress. Sajid Javid said in a statement on the Housing White Paper in February: “We will tackle the scourge of unfair leasehold terms, which are too often forced onto hard-pressed homebuyers.”

HOA’s recent Homeowners Survey showed that 49 per cent of leaseholders said they had experienced problems with their freeholder, and almost a quarter complained about the cost of fees and building works.

“This report shines new light on the difficulties faced by some home-owners who own their home on a leasehold basis often in the dark about the exact terms of their lease and currently unprotected from punitive terms including huge rises in rip-off ‘ground rents’,” says Labour Shadow Housing Secretary, John Healey.

42 per cent of those surveyed did not know the length of their lease. Of those that knew, almost one in four properties has less than 80 years remaining. Lease extensions can be carried out if the homeowner has occupied the property for more than two years, at an estimated cost of £4 billion to leaseholders as a whole. The complex process includes valuations and legal fees costing upwards of £500 and £750 respectively depending on quality, location and the existing lease.

Camilla Dell advises that buyers should feel happy to proceed with purchasing properties with at least 80 years or more left on the lease, although short leases needn’t be avoided.

“In fact,” she explains, “they can even be quite good as investments as you pay a lower price for the property to reflect the shorter lease. And if you plan on renting it out, the yield will be higher.”

High yields are certainly on the minds of developers, with four in 10 new builds offered leasehold. “Developers and estate management companies rely on leasehold to bamboozle consumers, charge exorbitant administration fees, ever increasing ground rents and render properties unsellable,” argues Higgins. The HOA demands new builds be mandatorily sold as commonhold, allowing buyers a freehold tenure with common responsibility. Yet given skyrocketing ground rents, developers are reluctant to offer tenures which rid them of freehold privileges.

“Developers and anonymous investors, often offshore, see the value of residential freeholds to blocks of flats,” explains O’Kelly. “Developers have increased income streams to the freehold to the highest degree possible.” He argues that high ground rents, short leases, fees and commissions and controlled management of blocks fundamentally disempower residents.

The homeownership crisis grows worse year on year as young people struggle to get a foothold on the housing ladder, and are excluded from a housing market which has forgotten them. Those who do stump up the cash to buy a leasehold tenancy do not own their own home and are stuck in a rut of ever-rising ground rents which prohibit them from purchasing freehold. “An entire generation of home buyers are seeing wealth erosion: they buy homes, but investors hitch a ride at their expense by owning the freeholds,” says O’Kelly.

With the explosion of buy-to-let and the failure to build good quality new and affordable homes, the housing market is failing young people and committing them to the label of ‘generation rent’ forever.

Leasehold in north London

Leasehold flats, maisonettes and apartments are disproportionately found in inner city areas in the capital. Half of London’s housing stock by number of properties is leasehold, with a third of all leasehold in England and Wales found in London.

Hampstead and Kilburn: 76.6 per cent

Westminster North: 85.5 per cent

Hornsey and Wood Green: 59.3 per cent

Finchley and Golders Green: 48.4 per cent

Source: Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, 2014

Right or Wrong?

The leaseholder has to take responsibility for common parts of the property. Wrong: this is the responsibility of the landlord.

An incoming leaseholder is not liable for outstanding charges. Wrong: check with a solicitor, as buyers can be liable for outstanding service charges and ground rent associated with the lease.

Leaseholders can sublet as they chose. Wrong: they must seek consent from the landlord.

The landlord can enter as they choose. Wrong: leaseholders have the right of quiet enjoyment without unreasonable interference.

The landlord can carry out works whatever the cost. Wrong: the landlord must consult on major works costing more than £250 to each leaseholder.

The landlord can make long-term contracts to the leaseholders cost. Wrong: the landlord must consult the leaseholder if expected to go on for longer than 12 months at more than £100 a year to the leaseholder.

The landlord can sell the freehold as they choose. Wrong: leaseholders have right of first refusal and the landlord must offer the freehold to leaseholders first (with some exceptions).

Leaseholders can have pets and make changes to their property. Right and wrong: permission must be granted by the landlord first.

Leaseholders can group together to buy the freehold. Right: satisfying certain conditions, the sale of the freehold can be enforced.

Leaseholders can do nothing about management if nothing is wrong with it. Wrong: they can group together and use the right to manage if they want to change the management whether deficient or not under a ‘no fault, no compensation’ process. If management is deficient, leaseholders can apply to the First Tier Tribunal for an appointed manager.

The landlord must provide his contact details. Right.

Leaseholders can challenge service and administration charges. Right: they can apply to the First Tier Tribunal whether already paid or not.

Leases cannot be varied. Wrong: with the agreement of all interested parties, it can be varied.

Leaseholders can extend the lease. Right: you can add 90 years to the existing lease with price agreed with the landlord.

Nothing can be done about poor management. Wrong: landlords must belong to a government approved redress scheme.

Buy-to-let landlords need these 10 contacts

June 05, 2017

Buy-to-let landlords need these 10 contacts

By Zoe Dare Hall

To make a landlord’s life easier, here are the 10 invaluable people they should have at their fingertips.
Here are the 10 people buy-to-let landlords ready should have on speed dial.

1. The lettings agent
If time, patience and know-how are lacking, landlords need a good lettings agent registered with the Association of Residential Letting Agents on side. “Are you really going to call the tenant’s last employer and previous landlord, for example? We get one forged passport a month and fraudulent bank statements every other week. Most landlords wouldn’t pick up on that,” says Marc von Grundherr, lettings director at Benham & Reeves.

2. The insurance company
Like the mortgage deal, the decor and the property itself, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the perfect buy-to-let – and it’s the same with landlord insurance. It is essential to have a policy that applies specifically to buy-to-let properties to cover both landlord and tenant arising from a range of incidents, such as an injury to the tenant, damage to the property or legal costs to repossess it.

3. The accountant/solicitor
Landlords would be wise to keep a solicitor at close range to call upon if things go wrong and to oversee all aspects of paperwork – including being able to act quickly when purchasing a new property. A specialist accountant is similarly vital. “The rental income generated is taxable and they will take away the headache of managing your payment commitments,” says Ali Carter, lettings manager at Russell Simpson.

4. The tradespeople
Having a trusted plumber, electrician and handyman on speed dial is essential to sort small problems before they escalate. There are simple things a tenant should do themselves, such as change a standard light bulb, says Mr von Grundherr. “But I’d rather spend £100 a month on a handyman and keep the tenant happy than focus on getting every last penny,” he adds.

5. The watchful neighbour
A trusty neighbour can keep a watchful eye on your property, take in deliveries and hold a spare key – “a real asset for you and your tenant”, says Richie Tramontana, founder of Red Property Partnership. In leasehold flats, he adds, it is also easier to get property maintenance or action from the local council if you present a collective voice with your neighbours.

6. The estate agent/buying agent
Making money from buy-to-let is becoming harder owing to higher stamp duty and changes to landlord tax relief. There is also a third more rental property available today compared with a year ago because of a weakening sales market, says Camilla Dell, managing partner of Black Brick buying agency, so it is important to know which areas are undersupplied and to buy the right kind of property.

“A third of our clients are BTL investors. Buyers often fall into the trap of believing what the selling agent tells them the property will rent for in order to make a sale, so we spend a lot of time advising clients on the rental market and collecting comparable rental data,” says Ms Dell.

7. The tax adviser
With ever-shifting sands around landlords’ tax liabilities, have a friendly expert who can keep up to speed with all the legislation and who will think ahead. Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners, says: “How you set up your property business today may impact how you can draw an income or pass it on in the future.
“There are several business structures available that allow for buying and managing a buy-to-let portfolio and what works best for you will depend on your individual goals and circumstances.”

8. The mortgage broker
Greater than lettings fees, sudden repairs or void periods, the biggest cost a landlord usually faces is the mortgage. “With a wide range of products available, it’s always good to form a strong relationship with an expert mortgage broker. They can keep track of the best mortgage deals and advise on the right product, as different types of BTL property may require a different mortgage product,” says Mr Bolton.

9. The cleaner
First impressions count, so do not sacrifice a good tenant for a dirty flat. More landlords are insisting on including a cleaner as part of the tenancy now – either paid for by the tenant or included in the rental price. Penny Mosgrove, of Quintessentially Estates, says: “It’s a godsend to any professional tenant who is too busy to clean themselves. It’s also a way of having someone to keep an eye on the property for you.

10. The property manager
While a letting agent will find a tenant, the property manager will look after the tenant and property. Some agents wear both hats, but they are distinct roles. “The property manager keeps the landlord/tenant relationship on the right foot and the landlord on the right side of the law,” says Ms Mosgrove.

For landlords who consider it an unnecessary expense, Jo Eccles, managing director of Sourcing Property, adds: “Anyone who has been caught out will know it can more than pay for itself.”

Safer buy-to-let investment
Whether you are thinking of investing or are already a landlord, the Telegraph, on behalf of Direct Line, has created useful information on the ever-changing buy-to-let market.

Direct Line landlord insurance is five-star-rated by Defaqto (Defaqto is an independent researcher of financial products) and has more than 250,000 landlord customers. It has been crowned What Mortgage Landlord Insurance Provider of the Year for four consecutive years.

Why the Russians want Mayfair

June 09, 2017

Why the Russians want Mayfair
By Carol Lewis

The Russians are back buying luxury properties in central London and beyond. Favourable exchange rates and a rise in the price of oil mean that international buyers, particularly those from the Middle East and Russia, are spending millions on large homes in high-end neighbourhoods.

Camilla Dell, the managing partner at Black Brick Property Solutions, says her buying agency has had a 22 per cent increase in the number of Russians buying in central London this year compared with last. This includes a family who bought a large detached house in the heart of Kensington for £37 million and another who bought an apartment in a Mayfair development for £21 million. “The Russians have been our biggest spenders, paying an average of £18.5 million for their properties. They have been buying homes in prime central London, with a preference for Mayfair and Kensington. Their reasons for buying are relocating to London for family, better quality of life, safety and education. Brexit has not been a factor, although currency has,” Dell says.

The main nationalities buying in prime central London last year, according to the Mayfair-based agency, were British, Indian and Middle Eastern. This year the balance has shifted to Russian, French and Middle Eastern. Dell’s biggest sale this year was a £55 million house in Belgravia to a Saudi Arabian family. Savills also reports that super-prime sales, properties worth more than £10 million, are robust.

The estate agency reports there were 120 sales last year of properties in London worth more than £10 million.
While transactions were down a little on the previous year, slightly more was spent. In total about £2.5 billion of property worth more than £10 million sold last year, of which £1.5 billion was invested in properties worth more than £20 million, according to a report, Spotlight: Prime London & Country 2017, by Savills.

The agency also reports an increase in high-end sales in the home counties. There were four sales of more than £10 million in St George’s Hill in Surrey. High-spending buyers came from Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and Russia.

According to data from Hamptons International, the strengthening of the rouble against the pound means that property is 45 per cent cheaper than it was in January 2016 for Russian buyers. It also shows that international buyers accounted for one third of sales in London in the first three months of this year, up from 22 per cent in the last three months of last year, with the proportion of overseas buyers in the most expensive London neighbourhoods totalling 49 per cent. However, this is well below the peak of 60 per cent, achieved right after the European referendum when the pound was weak.

The proportion of EU buyers in prime central London has fallen from 33 per cent last spring to 8 per cent at the start of this year. It is the first time that European buyers are not the largest group of overseas buyers — overtaken by those from the Middle East, who accounted for 10 per cent of all purchases in prime central London. However, sales to European buyers in affluent London suburbs are rising; from 6 per cent at the end of last year to 10 per cent of all sales this year.

Johnny Morris, the research and analytics director for Countrywide, says: “Europeans are attracted to wealthy suburbs such as Wandsworth, Richmond and Wimbledon — driven by the exchange rate and market sentiment.”
The spike in international homeowners selling property in London, which occurred just after the Brexit vote — in London 46 per cent of sales were by foreign owners; in prime central areas the figure was 68 per cent — appears to have eased; now foreign owners selling accounts for 20 per cent of sales across the city, and 40 per cent in the centre. However, Morris says that a weak euro and Brexit uncertainty has contributed to an increase in sales by EU owners in prime central London.

Focus On Clapham: Commons, good schools and cosy gastropubs means families stay put in SW4

By Melissa York

Clapham is not a straightforward neighbourhood. Unlike Dalston, it isn’t synonymous with hipsters; it isn’t known for its international wealth like Knightsbridge; and it isn’t the naturalised home of the English gent like Hampstead. It’s best described as a south London suburb that has welcomed wave upon wave of migration from other boroughs.

The Georgian villas surrounding its famous Common welcome the overspill from Battersea and Chelsea, while its terraces are overflowing with young families and fresh-faced 20-somethings, often renting their home with many others.

“It is estimated that a quarter of Clapham’s buyers come from one of three boroughs: Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, and the City of Westminster,” says Lauren Atkins, MD of The Malins Group, which is currently selling 24 apartments it’s built in an old metalworks in the area, “and there is a growing trend, for people searching between Chelsea and Marylebone, to end up buying in Clapham Old Town.”

According to Land Registry data, the average house price made its biggest leap in 2014, when it rose from £714,555 to £744,616 in a year. The average property currently sits around £760,600, with a year-on-year increase of 0.6 per cent, sitting slightly below the London average of 0.8 per cent.

This slow down is being seen in areas considered part of Prime Central London in particular, and though Clapham has not traditionally been seen as a paid-up member of that exclusive club, the Old Town, Abbeville Village and the streets running off Northcote Road (known by some as Nappy Valley) are certainly resembling them more and more.
“Having operated in Clapham for the past 10 years, I’ve seen the area change from being a new Londoner’s temporary ‘stop point’ to an established neighbourhood in its own right,” says David Law, sales manager at Foxtons’ Battersea office.

“Ten years ago, Clapham’s demographic comprised mainly of first-jobbers in their early 20s, buying or renting their first property with the help of mum and dad, and happily frequenting the likes of the local O’Neill’s on Clapham High Street.” Now, O’Neill’s is a Byron, its neighbour is Trinity, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and it’s surrounded by gastropubs with leafy gardens like The Stonhouse, The Jam Tree and The Calf.

This newfound gentility has led to more people climbing the property ladder within the area, Law adds, “so there’s a sense of growing up locally.” However David Fell, analyst at Hamptons International, says people are also staying put because of tough conditions in the prime market generally.

Families are also drawn to the area for good private and state schools and the active outdoor lifestyle afforded by the Commons. “We have bought there for many British and several French families, most of whom worked in banking or law and were upsizing from areas like Chelsea and Pimlico. The jump in house and garden sizes were really difficult to resist as they got so much more space and value for their money,” says Jo Eccles, MD at buying agency Sourcing Property.

Another buying agent, Black Brick, says Clapham is a “very diverse area”, from maisonettes and flats for around £600,000 to period family houses that command from £4m around the edge of the Common. “Indeed, an original 9,000sqft Georgian villa is currently available for £12m,” says partner Caspar Harvard-Walls.

Area highlights
Grab a well-earned moment to yourself in the triangular oasis of Clapham Common. There are cafes, a number of sports facilities, two playgrounds, a skate park and its bandstand is the largest in London. It’s also surrounded by a number of excellent gastropubs and restaurants. Among the latter is Dairy, a local favourite serving up British food from a robata grill with homemade bread in a trendy, upcycled setting. Afterwards, head to Venn Street Records for cocktails, live music and and sourdough pizza. For the perfect produce for your famous dinner parties, Venn Street Market offers fresh groceries, meat and seafood from independent suppliers from 10am to 4pm every Saturday. For gastropubs, you’re absolutely spoiled for choice; from the quiet cool of The Abbeville, to the colourful beer garden of The Falcon, to the much-loved Sunday roasts at The Railway Tavern, there’s one for every occasion.
Area guide

House prices Source: Zoopla
DETACHED
£1.136m
SEMI
£1.324m
TERRACED
£1.280m
FLATS
£584,563

Transport Source: TfL
Time to King’s Cross: 19 mins
Time to Liverpool Street: 22 mins
Nearest train station: Clapham Common
Best roads Source: Hamptons International
Most Expensive: Liston Road: £2,630,000
Best Value: Paradise Road: £247,750

Opinion: Important advice for the Bank of Mum and Dad – do your research and think about what your child wants, too

By Melissa York, City A.M.,

Rising house prices, together with stagnated salary inflation, have meant that more first time buyers are struggling to afford to get onto the property ladder, particularly in London where Hometrack data shows current property values are 85% higher than they were eight years ago. As a result, the “Bank of Mum & Dad” has become much more prevalent in helping their offspring onto the ladder, with the average hand out per child in London amounting to £24,800. So far this year, 20% of our clients have been buying for their children and we predict that this will increase by 10-15% over the next two years.

For those who plan on helping children financially, the first thing to work out is affordability. Some parents will have savings but others will need to borrow to help their children out. There are several ways to do this, for example, by remortgaging, or apply for a loan. Whatever option you decide, it’s a good idea to seek independent financial advice first.

For parents who want their children to repay the loan at some point in the future, drawing up a loan document is straightforward and it should set out the repayment terms, and any interest payable. It needs to be signed by both parties.

A common preference for parents buying for children is two-bedroom homes, and within close proximity to good transport links and other amenities. These offer a good future investment due to their broad appeal either for buy to let, first time buyer or professional couples. Areas such as Ladywell are proving particularly popular for first time buyers who are looking for value for money and within easy reach of Central London; we recently bought a two-bedroom property there for a client for £370,000. While there is a demand on new builds from first time buyers, we are seeing more of an interest in second hand properties which are often less expensive due to the premiums attached to new builds.

With so many ways to help your child get onto the property ladder, it’s important to put the time in to properly research the various options that are available. I would strongly advise carefully reviewing all potential risks and benefits and speak to your son or daughter about the option that is best suited to their needs as well as your own.
For further information on Black Brick, please visit www.black-brick.com

For further press information, please contact Emma Horton or Clodagh Foley at Foundation PR Ltd on: emma@foundation-pr.co.uk / clodagh@foundation-pr.co.uk or telephone: 020 7580 2492 / 07989 979693.

‘Look at the property’s value in 2014, take off the additional Stamp Duty, and use that as a benchmark’ – Black Brick

Prime London’s market seems to be bottoming out, agrees Camilla Dell
by PrimeResi June 6, 2017

Thing are looking up in the Prime Central London property market, says Black Brick boss Camilla Dell, despite all the uncertainty swirling around the General Election and Brexit negotiations.

Dell’s calling of the bottom of the market (or at least the beginning of the end of a downward run) chimes with analysis from a fleet of other key players including Cluttons, Knight Frank, JLL, Savills and – most emphatically – Humberts.

But Dell’s gone a bit further, offering up a practical insight into how one benchmarking play is getting decent amounts off those unrealistic asking prices for its clients: 2014 prices, less the value of George Osborne’s additional stamp duty, seems to be the magic formula for buyers.
Black Brick says it has negotiated below asking price on 67% of the properties recently purchased on behalf of clients, with an average reduction of 7%.

We are seeing vendors and agents become more realistic with pricing, and the market has now largely absorbed the Stamp Duty increases that came into force last April, so buyers are wanting to get on and purchase.
The falls in Prime London pricing over the last 12 months or so correlate very closely with the Stamp Duty increase
We don’t expect prices to fall much further. Indeed, the falls in Prime London pricing over the last 12 months or so correlate very closely with the Stamp Duty increase. Those properties at the lower end of the market, where Stamp Duty was basically unchanged, have held their value well. However, for more expensive property, price falls tend to mirror the increased Stamp Duty charge.

This has given a useful yardstick on which to negotiate with sellers – we can look at the property’s value in 2014, take off the additional Stamp Duty, and use that as a benchmark. It’s proving a successful approach for us and our clients. It’s in a flat market like this where a buying agent can really help – we are going in, negotiating hard – and it’s working.

The fall in sterling has seen cost reductions in the 30-40% range for dollar buyers which is partly the reason why these buyers are keen to invest. Many have decided that this is the year to add to their London portfolios and we have been instructed by a number of families to start the property search. Based on a Conservative win on 8th June, we don’t expect to see any material effects on the London property market as a result of the general election.
Camilla Dell is Managing Director of Black Brick
black-brick.com

More realistic prices sees pick up in central London prime property market

Sellers and estate agents in the prime central London property market are being more realistic with asking prices and as a result there is movement in what has been a stagnant market.

The market has largely absorbed the stamp duty rises introduced in 2014 and for international buyers currency exchange means they are getting more value for their money, according to property search firm Black Brick.

There is strong interest from buyers in the Middle East and Asia and this could be due to them not being as affected by Brexit as would be buyers from Europe.

‘We are seeing vendors and agents become more realistic with pricing, and the market has now largely absorbed the stamp duty increases that came into force last April, so buyers are wanting to get on and purchase,’ said Camilla Dell, managing partner of Black Brick.

‘We don’t expect prices to fall much further. Indeed, the falls in prime London pricing over the last 12 months or so correlate very closely with the stamp duty increase. Those properties at the lower end of the market, where stamp duty was basically unchanged, have held their value well. However, for more expensive property, price falls tend to mirror the increased stamp duty charge,’ she pointed out.

‘This has given a useful yardstick on which to negotiate with sellers. We can look at the property’s value in 2014, take off the additional stamp duty, and use that as a benchmark. It’s proving a successful approach for us and our clients. It’s in a flat market like this where a buying agent can really help. We are going in, negotiating hard and it’s working,’ she added.

Black Brick has negotiated below asking price on 67% of the properties recently purchased on behalf of clients, on average by 7%. There are currently a range of buyers in the market from all nationalities particularly British and Middle Eastern of which almost 50% are owner/occupiers, with 25% investor led.

‘The fall in sterling has seen cost reductions in the 30% to 40% range for dollar buyers which is partly the reason why these buyers are keen to invest. Many have decided that this is the year to add to their London portfolios and we have been instructed by a number of families to start the property search,’ Dell concluded.

Focus on Marylebone: No longer a modest pocket of London, W1U is now as expensive as Mayfair

It’s hard not to think about the Monopoly board when considering what the most salubrious areas are in London. Park Lane and Mayfair may be the highest prized, but in reality, they’re being outstripped by a train station.
Over the past 12 months, Marylebone has been the top performing area in Prime Central London, according to data by Knight Frank. From March 2016 to March 2017, house prices have risen by 0.7 per cent, which may not sound like much until you factor in that prices have dropped by 6.4 per cent on average across PCL.

“During a more challenging market, we found that buyers look outside their traditional locations,” says Christian Lock-Necrews, partner and office head for Knight Frank’s local branch. “Many found Marylebone in that period to be an area of London that represented best in class properties in a central London location, yet it allowed them to get more for their money than Mayfair or Knightsbridge.”

Indeed, Knight Frank’s report found that UK buyers were generally downsizing from Hampstead and Highgate or relocating from Mayfair, with some agents now saying it’s more popular than the toast of the Monopoly board.

“Marylebone used to be the ‘forgotten’ postcode and property prices were typically 30 per cent lower than Mayfair,” says Camilla Dell, managing partner at buying agency Black Brick. “There is now very little difference in pricing between the two.”

Data from David Fell, research analyst at Hamptons International, puts half of all sales at over £1m, with the most expensive property ever sold going for £12.75m on Blandford Street in 2014, which is surprising for an area not known for large houses, but its converted apartments in Georgian mansion blocks and Victorian terraces.

“Unlike most of its neighbours, Marylebone was never built for the super-rich,” adds Fell. “Terraces and squares were colonised by the comfortably well off. Homes were built one bay window wide with porchless entrances and few stucco details. Prices remain reflective of this social divide to this day with Oxford Street presiding over one of the largest price gaps anywhere in the capital.”

Historically, new builds have been relatively thin on the ground – there was a boom in the late 90s when the sidings of the railway station were converted into 380 flats – but a recent slew of high end homes have undoubtedly changed the character of the area. Notable schemes include Galliard’s The Chilterns, Ronson Capital Partners’ Chiltern Place, The W1 on the high street and Park Crescent overlooking Regent’s Park.
Portland Place has been singled out by Simon Deen, director of Aston Chase, as the most desirable street, saying it’s “fast becoming the Park Avenue of London.”

The retail offering in Marylebone is another big draw to the area for domestic buyers. Landowners Howard de Walden Estate and Portman Estate have been hugely influential in this area, curating a village atmosphere and a retail mix that’s 71 per cent independent. There are an impressive 83 restaurants in the area, including celeb-haunt Chiltern Firehouse, only pipped to the post by estate agents, of which there are 84.

The area’s increasing desirability (not to mention Crossrail, which will fling frequent flyers to Heathrow in under 30 minutes) has attracted a lot of new overseas buyers, too, largely from the Middle East, India and South Asia, according to David Adams, director of Humberts, who has been working in the area for over 30 years.
He adds that international investment has been fuelled by George Osborne as much as anything else. “The high stamp duty on property discourages British homeowners from moving locally, but it is more affordable for international investors buying with US-backed currency and those from low-tax regimes such as Dubai.”
Foxtons says its values the average one bed flat in Marylebone at £800,000, while family houses are commanding prices of over £2.5m.

Area highlights
Famous things first: the Chiltern Firehouse has overtaken The Ivy in recent years as the go-to place for celebrities to be papped. Yet, it’s not the only restaurant that’s been creating a stir; L’Autre Pied, Trishna and Orrery all have Michelin stars and Artesian has claimed the title of world’s best bar twice. Selfridges, while hardly a hidden treasure, is still an impressive local department store to call your own. It’s the second largest in the UK after Harrods in Knightsbridge. For a touch of culture, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is nearby and has become a fixture of summer in the city, fitting 1,200 people for each performance. Wigmore Hall is also on your doorstep, an intimate Victorian concert hall hosting chamber music and lunchtime recitals. Visit one of Europe’s finest art galleries in Hertford House. Admission to the Wallace Collection is free and is also home to a world class armoury.

Area guide

House prices Source: Zoopla
DETACHED
£1.196m
SEMI
£1.413m
TERRACED
£2.221m
FLATS
£1.383m

Transport Source: TfL
Time to King’s Cross: 12 mins
Time to Liverpool Street: 21 mins
Nearest train station: Marylebone

Best roads Source: Hamptons International
Most Expensive: Wyndham Place: £5.325m
Best Value: Frampton Street: £408,000

The play’s the thing: developers appeal to culture vultures by building theatres right next door to home

By Nicola Venning

There are many reasons for buying a home: location, size and lifestyle all spring to mind. But equally important, though more elusive, is a sense of community. For Sarah and Justin Savage, who work in the theatre industry, that comes from a vibrant arts scene with pop-in-for-tea neighbours and a friendly local.

“We are used to having a community and chatting to our neighbours, and want to carry on doing that,” says Sarah. “As well as being close to a good theatre.”

Sarah and Justin, both 60, first met four years ago – after finding each other on the Telegraph dating website – at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, west London, where early episodes of Doctor Who, Hancock’s Half Hour and Play School were made.

Sarah, a former actress and scriptwriter, and Justin, a theatre producer, married two years later and started the hunt for a home for their new life together.

When the newly-weds discovered that Riverside Studios was being redeveloped as an arts hub in conjunction with a new apartment complex, Queens Wharf, they realised they had found their “forever home”.
“It was a no-brainer, really,” says Sarah. “It enabled us to have access from our building to the cinema, theatre, restaurants, bars, and have places to take clients. It is the perfect spot for us at this stage in our lives.”
The couple – who now run their own theatrical management agency, Savages, representing actors – bought a three-bedroom apartment with a large terrace, and plan to move in this November.

A flat at Queens Wharf, sold through CBRE Residential. Two-bedrooms start from £1.15 million, rising to £1.425 million for a three-bedroom flat

Queens Wharf has 165 apartments, which are being sold through CBRE Residential; two-bedrooms start from £1.15 million, rising to £1.425 million for a three-bedroom flat.

Creating cultural spaces within new apartment blocks is a growing trend as developers have realised they help sell homes and create communities. “People want to live and work in a place where things are happening: arts exhibitions, music venues, street parties and celebrations in the community,” says David Twohig, chief development officer at the group overhauling Battersea Power Station.
Twohig is tasked with the challenge of creating a sense of community in the sprawling, shiny new development.

Arts spaces and socialising are incredibly important for all areas, but particularly new ones. They enable people to come together and help build community. It is the stuff of life David Jubb, artistic director and the boss of Battersea Arts Centre.

Battersea, which will ultimately have 25,000 people living and working within its 42 acres, will have 250 shops, cafés and restaurants and nine entertainment “platforms”, which include open squares, parks, playgrounds and indoor areas. The Village Hall, a rather bucolic-sounding name for an urban community space, sits within Circus West Village, the first phase of 865 apartments where prices start from £400,000.

Events there are being curated with the help of local Battersea Arts Centre, and are designed to draw in the wider community as well as new home owners. A choir is already up and running while theatre, stand-up comedy, Ted talks and local celebrations such as weddings are in Battersea’s vision.

“Arts spaces and socialising are incredibly important for all areas, but particularly new ones,” says David Jubb, artistic director and the boss of Battersea Arts Centre. “They enable people to come together and help build community. It is the stuff of life.”
A vibrant cultural centre also helps create a sense of place. As well as several restaurants, a pool and gym, One Tower Bridge by Berkeley Homes will include a new theatre alongside its 376 apartments.

The 900-seat Bridge Theatre, run by Sir Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, both veterans of the National Theatre, opens this autumn. Not only will it add glam to the already high-end apartments (with prices starting at £1.475 million), but it will enhance a relatively overlooked section of the South Bank.

Increasingly, creative outlets are the amenity of choice. Brewery Gate, a development of 28 family homes by St James’s in Twickenham, has foregone a gym in favour of a community hub and 320-seat theatre. The success of an arts – and indeed any – public venue depends heavily on how it is run, and this facility, where homes start from £1.55 million, will be managed by St Mary’s University.

Such venues also transform the merely interesting into the highly desirable. Television Centre is generally regarded as “one of the coolest and hippest new developments,” says Camilla Dell, managing director of Black Brick, a buying agency. And that is despite being in less-than-fashionable White City. Formerly part of the BBC, the much loved Grade II listed building is being turned into 950 homes. Prices start from £750,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.

It includes a host of the usual amenities (health club, hotel, cinema), but it is the building’s television history and its three soon-to-be-reopened studios (home of Strictly Come Dancing, among others) that make it stand out. Wander down from your flat to a live recording of your favourite show – how’s that for local culture?