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FT How To Spend It: Mayfair returns to the property forefront

An emerging art district, stellar shops and widened pavements are the backdrop for a glamorous residential renaissance in Mayfair.

Much of the recent residential building activity has been made possible by alterations to the planning regulations, which in the postwar period insisted that Mayfair’s traditionally domestic space be used as a refuge for bombed-out City firms. Over the next five years, a realignment of office to home will add an extra 110,000sq m of living room to the current meagre supply.

Fortunately, these changes have come at a moment when the world’s wealthiest have also altered their perspective on what is required to make a bigger splash. “It used to be that you either ‘got’ Mayfair or you didn’t,” says property consultant Simon Barnes, “but international buyers now want big houses, and Mayfair has some of the largest in London – at up to nearly 20,000sq m, they’re often double the size of those in Belgravia.”

FT/HTSI: SEPTEMBER 28 2015 by LISA FREEDMAN

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The Mirror: London’s most expensive home of the year?

Luxurious £90m mansion has ballroom for 200 people

Simon Barnes, an independent property consultant, who has been inside the mansion says that it ”ticks all the boxes” and was “incredibly sellable” despite the rumoured £90 million price-tag. He said: “It is a big house in Mayfair, with its own mews home. It is very rare.”

“These properties were built as houses, but then they became too big to run. During and after the war they were used for commercial purposes and the mews homes were sold off. Times have changed and there is now a demand for big family houses.

There are around 20 people actively looking in this market and many more who could afford to be, but there is a shortage of homes. This is what makes the home on Upper Brook Street so rare. It ticks all of the boxes: there are grand entertaining spaces, fantastic bedroom suites, accommodation for staff, and you can drive numerous cars into it to park.”

“The house has been renovated to an exceptional standard. This combination made it incredibly sellable. If it didn’t have one of these it might have taken years to sell.”

Mr Barnes added: “It is one of the biggest deals of the year. “You could save all the tax in the world by moving to Switzerland but if you have no life then you might as well be on Mars. That’s why people choose London. Invariably, location will win. ”

READ FULL ARTICLE ON THE MIRROR WEBSITE

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Ask Simon Barnes

Simon-Barnes1-e1362391770530-480x480If you could own any house in Mayfair which would it be?

A family mansion on either Grosvenor St or Brook St with the separate mews house. There are so few of these properties in London but the ones that are available have been upgraded for modern day living and provide the very best and biggest space in PCL.

How much value does a property with a garage add to a property in Prime Central London?

Once you enter a certain level of the market, a separate garage is essential and not price driven. It is more about the overall desirability of a property with separate, secure parking than it is about actual value. Privacy, convenience, security are all boxes that must be ticked for buyers of top end property and that means having private parking…usually for more than one car.

Who buys property in London in the summer months and is it possible to negotiate harder in the holidays?

Domestic buyers tend to be less active over the summer months..particularly once schools break up. But as they leave, other nationalities arrive ie. ME, Asian and Indian buyers…all of whom have traditionally been a strong force in the market over the holiday period and this year looks set to be no different. However it isn’t possible to ‘negotiate harder’ as it is a very different market. These overseas buyers don’t tend to be looking for family homes and lifestyle purchases…they are looking to make sound investments in prime addresses.

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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’.

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The importance of the London postcode

A third of my clients in recent years have been looking to acquire property in London for investment purposes, and as such, knowledge of the intricacies involved in finding the right property, in the right location, at the right price, has never been more important.

Traditionally in a buoyant market, investors have taken all kinds of risks, buying unseen property in secondary locations and previously untested markets. Since the beginning of the recession, the London market has become incredibly challenging, and it is now crucial that investors ‘buy right’ and resist the temptation to take risks.

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Central London postcode areas

The choice of the London postcode is arguably the single most important consideration in the buying process. If budget allows, the appeal of fringe areas pegged as ‘up and coming’ should be resisted in favour of the more established addresses such as Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill and Kensington. Although it is true that these prime locations come with a higher price tag than their lesser-known neighbours, it will always be money well spent.

In a strong market, properties in fringe locations will sell, but may take longer to do so than their counterparts in established addresses. However, in a weaker market these kinds of property will quickly become less appealing as serious buyers are inclined to wait for something with a stronger investment guarantee. [Read more…]

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