Parking spaces cost more than many homes in London

Parking spaces cost more than many homes in London

11:31 AM, 12th July 2011, About 13 years ago

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Car parking spaces in plush Knightsbridge are selling for more than the average price of a house in the rest of the UK.

The underground spaces, measuring 19 feet by 8 feet regularly make more than the Land registry average for a home of £161,823, according to top people’s estate agent W A Ellis.

The firm reckons the average house price falls short of buying a two bedroom flat with one bathroom on a 4.25 year lease – which adds up to £205,000 plus another £1 million for a 90 year lease.

“Recently, we marketed a flat in Knightsbridge which had been in the same ownership for over 35 years and needed modernisation,” said Daniel Wiggin, a partner at the firm.

“We had 30 viewings in the first two days and through an informal tender managed to achieve the highest price possible for our client together with many backup bids. This example clearly denotes the strength of the prime Central London market.

“For the longer term, it is predicted that residential property values in prime Central London could increase by 33.4% in the next four years.”

Rent gazumping is a feature of the Central London letting market – with rents up about 10% in a year and a shortage of property.

“We had two asking price offers on a stunning apartment in Lowndes Square, Belgravia, at the start of marketing at £2,750 per week. Bids started to escalate, ending in ‘best and finals’ being taken and the landlord secured a tenancy in excess of £3,000 per week for a two year tenancy with the first year paid up front,” said Lucy Morton, head of lettings.

She is expecting short term lets to return at least six times their usual value as accommodation is booked in advance for the Olympic Games in London next July.

“Many landlords are already adapting their tenancy agreements to include break clauses so that they can benefit from the games,” she said. “It may be possible to achieve up to six times the usual weekly rent during the three weeks of the Olympics, but possible void periods before and after the games could have a significant impact on potential financial gain.”


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