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by Simon Barnes

Mayfair Property – under the radar?

It may seem a strange thing to say but many people looking to buy property in prime central London do not consider Mayfair among their preferred buying locations. Of course, everyone knows Mayfair, or at least have heard of it; if only because it is the most expensive ‘property’ in the UK version of the Monopoly game.

LondonBuildings010It actually takes some persuading to convince buyers that Mayfair property is worthy of their consideration. Why is this?

Maybe because

  1. It is a small area with a relatively small number of properties, at least compared to other central London prime areas
  2. It is perceived as an area full if expensive shops and trendy boutiques rather than a residential area
  3. It is not ‘Belgravia’ – the favoured location for many UK and overseas buyers
  4. It has lots of offices and lacks ‘atmosphere’ or community life, particularly in the evenings
  5. There cannot be any variety in such a small area with so many other functions

In fact, in recent years buyers have returned to Mayfair, many considering numbers 1-4 on this list as positive benefits rather than negative factors; and when they do look at Mayfair, they find that it offers a much wider variety of properties than, for example the popular garden squares of Belgravia.

Why buyers are beginning to choose Mayfair Property

For those in the know, Mayfair property offers many benefits with buyers liking that it is quiet (especially in the evenings and weekends), it is compact and residents can walk everywhere, and it has the best restaurants and is close to London’s best theatres.

Most important, what suits some buyers is that it has a lower profile, is more discreet and, despite what many believe, is still (relatively speaking) ‘under the radar’.

Filed Under: Mayfair, Opinion, Property, Simon Barnes’ Property Scrapbook Tagged With: Mayfair, Mayfair property

by Simon Barnes

Mews houses

Mews houses are certainly not to everyone’s taste, unless they are unusually large, or have the benefit of parking facilities. Mews houses have this image of being “cool” bachelor pads, but the reality is quite different, largely they are small quite cramped and with little natural light.  They can command premium prices, where the buyer owns the main house (originally attached to the mews) which by connecting to their house, creates a better living space with integrated parking.

Filed Under: Property Tagged With: London Property Consultant, mews houses, Simon Barnes

by Simon Barnes

Simon Barnes on Basements

CI-finished-basements-plus-2_lgThe London Borough of Kensington recently announced a review of its basement policy. Simon Barnes comments:

I believe this review is a great idea and not before time. Developers and builders have become swept away by the thought of making excessive profits through creating basements, based on this obsession with ‘square footage’.

A desire to enhance the square footage of the house believing this will greatly enhance the value is misguided.  Squash courts located in a newly created basement going under the garden are practical and with purpose; creating vast basements, or double or even triple deep basements are not because in reality much of this space will not be used and a house then becomes divided by useable space and simply redundant space.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Property Tagged With: basement review, basements, London Borough of Kensington, property consultant, Simon Barnes

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