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Superyacht owners: insight, trends and chartering

Superyacht owners fall into two types – those who want to be on show and be seen in all the right places like the Cote d’Azur and those, who are an emerging new breed, who want to explore unusual places such as the Galapagos Islands or North Canada.

superyacht

St Tropez is a magnet for the owners who hire a yacht or a boat from the marina only to sail around the corner and moor up at Pampalone beach for a couple of weeks. Some would argue that spending in the region of £1 million per week to charter a luxury boat only to stay in the same place is a little peculiar, but you pay your money and you make your choice and this is a tried and tested formula by those who can….

The new breed that charter agents are noticing, are owners looking for the spirit of adventure. Over the last 15-20 years, the style and build of boats has changed dramatically and now that GPS and wifi and vastly improved communications can be installed into a luxury boat, it means that owners can set sail and still remain in touch or even work as they travel across the sea.

st tropez superyacht

The key to successful chartering is knowing the right agent. Experienced local agents will know the best and most interesting places to seek out. They will advise on the most suitable bo at and which marinas, harbours and ports will accommodate various sized boats. Rather like property agents, there are the great and the good in the boat charter world, there are the likes of Savills who have offices and representatives in the prime places such as London, Antibes and Monaco and there are ‘hustlers’, those with insider knowledge, who make calls and make things happen to procure the superyacht no one thought was available. It is a competitive market and there are deals to be had if you know who to go to.

Superyacht costs and technology

Costs are astronomical with fuel being one of the biggest. I was once alongside a superyacht off the Sicilian cost, that took four hours to refuel and at the end the owner handed over £250,000. Taxes and the cost of moving a boat from one beautiful location to another does not come cheap and can cost in the region of £10,000 just to move from one bay to another. Running costs can be around 10 per cent of the value of the boat; so some private owners will charter their boat to recoup the running costs each year. Even when a boat is standing still the costs continue with generators and air conditioning to be maintained.

Luxury yacht

These days technology extends to tracking superyachts across the globe, so in the summer from May to September you can see plenty of boats moored up along the coast of Ibiza for the club and party scene. Certainly the Med sees the most boats flocking to enjoy the host of islands and social life from June to August. Croatia and Montenegro are now becoming popular new hotspots and the Ionian Islands are a perennial favourite. In the winter months the Caribbean plays host to fabulous boats and glamorous visitors celebrating New Year on one of the luxury hideaway islands like St Barts and Richard Branson’s Nevis.

Expert property viewing advice for buyers and sellers

Simon Barnes offers his insights (and some advice) for property buyers and sellers; including mobile phones, smelly pets and annoying sellers.

Buyers

Buyers who do not pay attention during viewings and instead spend their ‘viewing’ time texting or on the phone. If you’re serious about buying, there will be an important decision to be made; so for perhaps 20 minutes, dare to turn your phone off!

Buyers who disappear after a viewing without giving any kind of feedback leaving everyone concerned in an unenviable state of limbo. Just let us know what you thought of the property… that’s all!

Buyers who ask stupid questions – usually because they’ve been on the phone for the duration of the viewing! You would know what the service charge is if you’d been listening… likewise that there is permit parking/off street parking/garage parking…or no parking etc etc

Sellers

Preparation – decisions are made within the first few minutes of viewing a property and yet strangely, few sellers seem to fully understand this so I make a point of always arriving at least 30 minutes before a viewing to ensure everything is as it should be.

Vendors who follow you around on viewings with a running commentary do nothing to ingratiate themselves to any prospective buyer – they only irritate!

Pets may well be loved by their owners but their ‘scent’ does not assist the viewing process – so I would recommend removing all evidence of smelly pets… or any pets for that matter.

About Simon Barnes

Simon Barnes has built a reputation for possessing insider knowledge, treading the pavements of London’s fanciest streets for more than 20 years acquiring prime properties for the well-heeled and wealthy. Working slightly ahead of the curve; his code of practice has been always to retain a manageable cluster of clients rather than spreading his attention too thinly.

by Simon Barnes

Off market – the new trend that is old news…

The trend for claiming that a particular property is only available ‘off market’ has been very slowly creeping back in. The term is a grey area; off market is often an excuse to over value a property and ask a higher price.

Sellers may test the water by being off market increasing the price considerably in comparison to neighbouring properties and hoping that no one notices the disparity. Of course in this day and age of the Internet when data is freely available, savvy buyers will be able to do their own research into comparable property values and from that make their own judgement on pricing.

The fact is that whether you are a seller hoping to attract a buyer by being off market or a buyer wishing to make a discreet purchase, strong experienced representation from an agent is crucial. A good buying agent will earn his commission in spades when it comes to firstly sniffing out a genuinely off market property, but above all when it comes to negotiating the best possible deal. Professional estate agents will trust only the most credible buying agents who come with a solid reputation, act with due diligence and have an impeccable track record.

Throughout the last financial crisis, some owners favoured going off market because they did not want to give off the wrong signals by openly marketing their property. Similarly, some buyers wished to remain under the radar, preferring to conduct their viewings and negotiations in private.

In the last few years, agents have definitely claimed to be offering off market properties when in reality they are not. Beware of off market properties, it’s tempting to misinterpret this as a kudos label, when actually they tend to be more expensive than rival properties and are really in no way superior.

If you want to sell or buy well, then focus on retaining the most experienced agent, someone who can navigate a deal through the lows and negotiate on your behalf, securing the property at a sensible price rather than paying the inflated price on an off market price tag.

by Simon Barnes

Luxury property – value and changing tastes

In the luxury property market it would be tempting to say that expensive fittings and state-of-the art decor are luxury items. However, in today’s world, when there is a price put on just about everything, luxury is more about the intrinsic value to the buyer than the cost paid.

luxury property bathroom — Bathroom in Langton Street – on market from Aylesford at £3.5m

Today, in the world of luxury property, real value is more about having the right space. Real luxury is about peace and quiet and the having the time to savour what your money has bought.

Technology

Increasingly the discerning buyer is not looking to pay a premium for a property installed with over-complicated technology, which comes in many guises from baths that run themselves, to electronic remote curtain closing. Let’s face it, a dimmer switch has the same function as Lutron lighting, and is far easier to use! However, proper sized and equipped gyms and proper sized media rooms are still in demand.

luxury property gym — Gym in Mount Vernon House, Hampstead Village from Aston Chase

New build luxury property

There appears to be an increase in demand for larger properties (apartments) with an increasing number buyers opting for new-build apartments as homes rather than just investments. As a consequence, more thought is going into the design/layout to suit owner occupiers rather than just renters or investors

Luxury location

Today’s luxury property buyers are actually shying away from predictable high street brands, with the exception of perhaps a mini Waitrose or Wholefoods. Here, there is an increasing demand and reliance on home delivery.

In London, we are seeing an increase in appeal among buyers for London’s ‘villages’, most notably Marylebone, Hampstead, Highgate, Barnes, Wimbledon. Here landlords have made strategic plans to focus on independent retailers, rather than predictable brands.

And, of course, The Ivy is now the new Pret as there’s now one on every street corner pretty much throughout London, which makes the exclusivity of a ‘village’ all the more appealing and sought after.

by Simon Barnes

How lateral space in London adds up

“In Prime Central London (PCL) one thing is a fact; lateral space is rare, sought after and expensive.” says Simon Barnes of H. Barnes and Co. “Around Hyde Park Corner one can expect to pay around £5000 per square foot, as you move further out the land becomes cheaper and that is reflected in the asking price.

Traditionally London is full of tall narrow townhouses, deemed by overseas buyers to be quintessentially English and desirable; in reality everyday life is better lived over two floors than five. Asian buyers prefer new build, Eastern Europeans prefer the imposing stucco-fronted grand townhouses found in Belgravia and Knightsbridge. Space here is at a premium and finding a good lateral house is extremely hard.

Buyers in search of a more practical lateral floorplate find it hard to secure anything suitable in the heart of Prime Central London, so they start to widen their search and compromise on location. Hampstead and Highgate offer a better choice for those wanting detached family houses laid out over two or three floors, which can easily accommodate Middle Eastern and Indian families, with maybe three generation or several families under one generous roof.

The problem across PCL is that invariably many substantial properties are listed and therefore works and reconfiguration of the living space is restricted, meaning that rooms look out of proportion when carved up, partition walls don’t work and you end up spending vast sums of money for a second rate layout. The truth is that narrow buildings do not convert well. Today, Grosvenor Square in Mayfair is a rare example of a reconfigured building converted into great lateral space.

This is where mansion blocks tick the right box; purpose built, practical, well built and designed, with efficient heating, plumbing, good sound proofing and insulation. Eaton Square and Eaton Place offer some good flats for those in search of a premier postcode.

Years ago, I recall the best flat in London at the time in Eaton Square being sold – it was a first floor apartment spread out across four buildings. Recently, a flat in Knightsbridge comprising around 7,000 square feet sold for around £10,000 per square feet, double the going rate, because it offered exceptional rare lateral space in such a prestigious location.”

Superyacht costs and technology

Buyers

Sellers

About Simon Barnes

Technology

New build luxury property

Luxury location

Contact H. Barnes & Co – Tel: 020 7499 3434