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Area: SW1
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According to Mouseprice.com, Belgravia's Chester Square remains on top if the UK house price league, with an average property value of £6.6m, proving a vision of a property-owning democracy worked out well for Margaret Thatcher.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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The London market's set to blow up in an extravagant excess of top Capital property values, according to London Central Portfolio, a property search and management company. Expect - according to LCP chief Naomi Heaton in conversation with the Standard here - Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea prices to rebound 80% from recent lows.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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And this time, they're extracting maximum metaphorical victory by picking former Home Secretary David Blunkett's one-time grace-and-favour apartment at 62 South Eaton Place. It's been lying empty since Blunkett left three years ago... alarmed, CCTV-monitored, bullet-proof glazed. Somebody apparently left the window open. (David!!!) More here.
The luxury squatters strike again [November 25, 2009]
Westminster Council: sell or be squatted [November 18, 2009]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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I'd heard - on the grapevine - via a number of estate agents about growing numbers of Italians setting up home in London, driven by a combination of a strong Euro and a strange domestic tax situation involving a temporary amnesty. Now - according to Investors Chronicle:
An influx of Italian cash buyers to the central London property market is skewing house price indicators and leading to over-optimistic forecasts of a housing market recovery.
The story comes via, ahem, Capital Economics, and uses data from Savills, who claim 80% of Kensington enquiries and 70% in Knightsbridge are from Italian buyers.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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The Belgravia Squatters have moved into a 34 room mansion at 112 Eaton Square, having been evicted from a 42 room gaff around the corner in Eaton Place. The papers are making a fuss about the fact that Nigella Lawson's a neighbour. Perhaps she'll cook them something. With lentils.
Westminster Council: sell or be squatted [November 18, 2009]
Thursday afternoon linkage - call squatbusters [November 12, 2009]
Belgravia squatters strike again [November 11, 2009]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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This time, a 42 room Belgravia palace... yours, apparently, if you're a key worker. How generous.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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The squatters' new best friend, the Daily Mail shares the moment as squatters move into a £12m house in Chester Square, Belgravia... apparently the street the credit crunch forgot. Check out the pictures, here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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"I got a call from a property finder asking if I'd meet one of his clients at the Lanesborough hotel to discuss my house. I had a riding lesson that afternoon, so I tipped up at the hotel at 7.30pm wearing my jodhpurs, and was taken to the seventh floor where, unbeknown to me, Nicole Kidman was waiting."
I don't know about you, but I bloody hate it when that happens. Six years ago, it was Jennifer Aniston demanding a look inside my Hammersmith terrace house... and I was still in my clown outfit. Before that, imagine the look on Teri Hatcher's face when she wanted to talk Putney apartment, and got a glimpse of my Richard Nixon mask.
Anyway, the Telegraph's interviewee learnt the hard way that you can't deal with the stars. Unlike Aniston and Hatcher, Kidman didn't call security, but she did strike a deal and then walk away from it when she got pregnant. Apparently. So, the (seriously special) £12m Belgravia mews house, which might have belonged to Kidman, is for sale. For details, go here, and follow the links to 12 Grosvenor Crescent Mews.
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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Isn't it comforting to know that, even in such difficult economic times, there are people whose dreams are coming true. Slavica can count 2009 a good year... she's got rid of little Bernie, and she's got him to pay for a nice little big Belgravia pad. The Times's Lucy Denyer has the scoop on London's first £20m purchase in six months... a Finchattons Belgravia technopad. More here.
Ball breaker [March 6, 2009]
Old and new in Eaton Square [May 7, 2008]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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The Candys reveal to the Evening Standard that, this year, among the the super-rich - the kind of clients who shop for £20m apartments in One Hyde Park - discounts are very much in. The Candys, however, say they can afford to dig in their heels, and if that means going through 2009 without a single sale, so be it. They've sales in the bag, and deposits enough, to complete the project. But what about the quote of the day? Here you go...
"Unless it gets a lot worse, in late 2010/2011 the market will be significantly better than it is today."
An invaluable tip.
One Hyde Park... dropping facts [February 18, 2008]
One Hyde Park: Bank of Scotland out, Eurohypo in [October 26, 2007]
One Hyde Park penthouse - SOLD! TO THE OWNERS! [March 29, 2007]
Technorati Tags: development, London, property, real estate |
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It's the South Eaton Place townhouse owned by the late controversial politician until his death in 1998. Powell's widow sold the property to its current owners. It was also where he was living when he made his career making/ending Rivers of Blood speech, and was fired from the Conservative front bench. Continuing on the political theme, it overlooks Blunkett's ex-grace and favour home. Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, three reception rooms, £3.65m. Particulars here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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Expensive property's not shifting... but it seems nobody told the Candy Brothers, who have just dumped a couple of flats and a block of offices with residential planning permission onto the market with a collective asking price of £100m.
Market experts are astonished at the asking prices for two flats and an unconverted property amid the biggest housing slump in history.
Click the link for plenty of skeptical estate agent commentary. FYI, the properties include this £40m six-bedroom apartment in Chesham Place, apparently the second most expensive flat in London.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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Did I say open? Yes, I did. We have it on good authority that Humberts franchise Farleys will be opening a second office, at 60 Sloane Avenue, in November.
Technorati Tags: estate agents, London, real estate agents |
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The Independent gets a look inside an interesting Finchatton [warning, classical muzak] development in Eaton Square. It's a mixture of Victorian grandeur and very 21st Century glass-and-metal modernism... manifest in a giant rear extension and basement (housing cinema, swimming pool, and bedrooms for staff and security). What I don't understand is exactly how a Grade II-listed property (with historical importance... it was formerly the home of Lord Napier... although he couldn't have spent much time there) got the nod for such a radical extension. It's hard to imagine how the character of the building isn't altered by attaching what looks like a space ship to it. There are pictures here.
Technorati Tags: architecture, London, property, real estate |
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Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich has submitted plans to build an eight-bedroom palace in Knightsbridge. It would stretch across eight stories, joining to Lowndes Square townhouses... which Abramovich has gradually bought up, apartment-by-apartment, since the late 1990s. If it goes ahead, it's likely to become the UK's most expensive residential property, with a value of around £150m.
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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... At, wait for it, in excess of £115m. It's an apartment at 8, St James's Square, currently an office block, but with planning permission for residential development... six very expensive apartments in London clubland. What's not at all clear is how much money has actually changed hands, or what this kind of off-plan agreement actually means. According to the Telegraph:
Only the most basic building proposals have so far been submitted. There will be large solar panels on the roof, a car lift to take vehicles to the basement parking – and cycle racks, to comply with regulations.
I'll believe this when it completes.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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This sweet Candy & Candy development has been the subject of a record-breaking level of speculation, but apparently:
Of 80 available units, 40 have exchanged, totaling more than £600m, with average unit prices of over £20m.
Price per square foot is "nudging toward" £6,000.
Volume has been increasing in the last quarter.
20% of buyers have been British (a large proportion, in the world of super-prime).
The Lancasters - some prices revealed [January 17, 2008]
One Hyde Park: Bank of Scotland out, Eurohypo in [October 26, 2007]
One Hyde Park penthouse - SOLD! TO THE OWNER! [March 29, 2007]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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So, the dining room's not completely dead. This extraordinary dining room is part of a Whitehall Court apartment. The Court - described as "a palace of flats" - is a former home to George Bernard Shaw, William Gladstone, Lord Kitchener and even MI6 during the First World War. It's attached to the National Liberal Club, right in the heart of Whitehall. Just two bedrooms, two receptions, two bathrooms, but arguably one of the most remarkable addresses in London, it's with Chesterton's, guide price £3.5m. Particulars here.
[Thanks to Ronan]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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Vogue reports on Clare Wright Keller's move from cardigans to Cadogan Square (ouch), the Pringle creative director's first foray into interior design. She's apparently given a Brahm apartment the Pringle touch, and it's now being rented out for £4,500 a week. No photos, I'm afraid... although is anyone else can point us in the right direction...
Technorati Tags: interiors, London, property, real estate |
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Remember One Hyde Park... Sheik Hamad and Candy & Candy's über-luxury Knightsbridge development? It's had a bit of a financing history, with some confusing stories relating to where the money's coming from and where it's going. The latest - according to this - is a significant £1bn refinancing courtesy of Eurohypo, the giant European real estate bank, replacing the Bank of Scotland's stake in the business. The project is due to be completed in 2010.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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The New York Times takes a peek at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's three-storey Cadogan Square apartment. Apparently, it's kitted out by designer Jamie Drake and contains original works by Warhol, Jasper Johns and Henry Moore. Bloomberg apparently bought the apartment back in 1997, for £2.8m, with a 26 year lease. Earlier this year, he paid a further £3.5m to extend the lease until 2113. It sounds to me like he's got himself a bit of a deal.
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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... including two Wilkinson Eyre residential towers, will be on display at the SW1 Gallery from September 19 to 22. The plans are by Land Securities and are colossal in scale, encompassing almost three million square feet of commercial, residential and recreational space between Buckingham Palace Road, Bressenden Place and the station. More here.
[story via the Telegraph; illustration from Land Securities website]
Technorati Tags: architecture, London, property, real estate |
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In case you're wondering, the criteria:
Relationship to surroundings and neighbourhood.
Response to site constraints and opportunities.
Layout, grouping and landscaping.
Planning of roads and footpaths.
Handling of garages and car parking.
Attention to safety, security and accessibility.
External appearance and internal planning.
Sustainability in construction.
Finishes, detailing and workmanship.
Awards are also made to projects with planning permission but that haven't been built. We're going to look at completed projects.
[image courtesy of Design For Homes]
The Overall Winner is London-based Tabard Square [illustrated], behind London Bridge Station, by architect Rolfe Judd and developer Berkeley Homes. At it's heart: a 22-story tower with a clever built-in barometer... LEDs that change with the weather. There's clever management, too, including a deal with a hotel, resulting in a better, more complete, concierge service for residents. What's more, there are 212 high-quality affordable homes included in the development.
Other London winners are Pimlico's Tachbrook Triangle, by Barratt and Assael Architecture - a hi-tech development that managed to retain and protect an historic and endangered Georgian terrace - and Islington's Melody Lane, by developer London Wharf and architect Julian Cowie - copper-clad townhouses on the site of a former garage.
See the complete list - with illustrations - here.
Technorati Tags: architecture, design, London, property, real estate |
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 So property price increases in Prime Central London might have taken a hit, but the same can't be said for rental growth which, according to Knight Frank, reached its highest point in eight years... 12.2% June-to-June. If you're a landlord, how did you do in the postcode lottery? Here are the winning numbers... SW1, SW3, NW1, SW10, W8, and the bonus postcode is W14. This month's jackpot isn't as high as you might expect. Although house prices in these postcodes have slipped slightly in the last quarter, they've still, historically, outstripped rental growth, meaning that in a lot of cases yields aren't actually that impressive. If you own the property, though, and you bought it in time... who cares?
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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The Daily Mail reports on what it reads as a frenzy of interest in London studio flats, citing a number of west London examples, including a studio in Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge, that was so small that - despite recent advances in nanophotography - Strutt & Parker failed to capture it on camera. Documentary evidence from the Land Registry did, however, prove the studio existed, and Strutt & Parker were able to sell it for £215,000. More here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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It's a Buckingham Place, Westminster townhouse... eight bedrooms, a terrace and a garden (note to non-Londoners: gardens in this neighbourhood are rare as travelers' teeth), and it's weighing in at a hefty £4.85m. It also comes with an elegant bit of history. It was previously owned by JFK's sister-in-law, the superbly named Princess Radziwill, and was Kennedy's London martini-pad of choice during his presidential years. Particulars, courtesy of Knight Frank, here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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Let's get this straight, we're talking about 1,200 sq ft in Eaton Place, Belgravia... home to Roman Abramovich, Roger Moore and Elizabeth Hurley (the square, not the apartment obviously... although there's an image that's going to haunt me). Apparently, Blunkett still has a place locally too. Hm. I can't find the particulars... so if anyone has a link, I'd appreciate an email (or drop it in the comments below). Meanwhile. this is the kind of thing £3m gets you in Eaton Place.
The story - by the way - comes via This Is London - who got this wonderful comment from Alex Stroud of Savills:
"Personally, I would rather buy a wonderful one-bedroom flat than a mediocre two-bedroom flat of the same size. After all, who wants guests to stay?"
London's most expensive studio flat? [March 11, 2005]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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They say Irina Abramovich is considering blowing £35m of it on a 20-bedroom home in Belgravia Square. But check out the divorcee bitterness comment underneath the story:
Goodness me, Roman Abramovitch (£8bn+) must have had a good lawyer. I wish that he/she had worked on my behalf during my divorce.
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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It's a ninth floor, three-bedroom apartment in Pimlico's Dolphin Square and, according to this, he already knows who his neighbours will be:
Members of the prince's police protection team will take residence in neighboring apartments.
Apparently, Dolphin Square residents were informed of the Prince's imminent arrival via an announcement in their residents' newsletter.
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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Now here's a strange one. Remember when we heard that Bowater House was being replaced by this super-luxury block, overlooking Hyde Park and topped by penthouses so fine the super-rich were going to be asked cage-fight just for viewings? The talk, then, was of penthouses reaching £20 million. But soon, the talk was of offers of £84 million. Then, news emerged the development was receiving funding from Sheikh Hamad. Well, the latest is that one penthouse has broken all records for an apartment sale anywhere in the world and has been picked up for no less than £100 million. Who's the proud new owner? It's Sheikh Hamad, who appears to have guaranteed himself a record-breaking profit by buying the apartment himself. Man, I bet those negotiations were weird. Did he hire two lawyers? Or did Candy & Candy hire an entire army of them? Anybody out there have any idea of how the financing worked on this?
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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Lord Patten - Margaret Thatcher's housing minister - is, according to the Independent on Sunday, harassing ministers to force the closure of the homeless people's soup kitchens inconveniently close to his Ashley Gardens flat.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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Apparently, she's looking for a gaff in or near Knightsbridge. She's £8 million to spend, and it "must have high ceilings so that I can practice my vocals".
[via CCTV.com]
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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 It's a bit of a triumph for unconventional estate agency franchise Re/Max... 17 Gerald Road in Belgravia was home to Noel Coward between 1930 and 1956, and the venue for some truly star-studded parties. It features a double-height reception room (extra clearance for all those egos), four bedrooms, a library and roof terrace. It also comes with 1 Burton Mews, which adds another two bedrooms, a garage and off-street parking (and was used, at the time, as an office by Coward's secretary). It's on the market with a guide price of £4 million. Too, too glamorous. Particulars, here.
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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Broadcaster Sue Lawley, singer Brian Ferry and actor Rupert Everett are all said to be backing the Save Sloane Square campaign, which is challenging Kensington & Chelsea Council's proposals to build a four-lane road through the square, splitting it into two piazzas... or squares. It looks like a stand-off.
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London |
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It was (just) less than a year ago when the Rat and Mouse said "goodbye" to Knightsbridge's Bowater House and "hello" to news that it was to be replaced by a Rogers/Candy & Candy construction of 86 apartments.
The talk is of higher than high end, with price tags reaching £20 million...
... we said. Well, if only we'd have known. London's currently packed to the bonuses with UHNWIs (ultra-high-net-worth individuals) and rich people are said to be going nuts about the properties, even though One Hyde Park isn't yet a reality. In fact, there is already talk of penthouses in the development exchanging hands for £84 million.
[image from Candy & Candy website]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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It measures 10 feet 6 inches by 8 feet 9 inches, but it does come with a balcony, so there's a bit of extra space if you're very wide or very tall. It's on Winchester Street in Pimlico... really not a bad area at all. Our favourite part of the particulars:
This is a very light flat facing North East.
It's with Stern Studios, and it's at £139,000 for anyone brave enough to accept indemnity insurance in lieu of planning permission. Viewings Thursday February 8, 6.15-6.45pm and Friday February 9, 1-1.30pm.
And if you're stuck for idea about how to furnish your new mini-flat, check this for some ideas, courtesy of SketchUp user Simple Simon.
Only in Chelsea - flat the size of a snooker table: £170,000 [January 22, 2007]
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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... invented by the Evening Standard to describe the rich man's habit of allowing high-end property sit vacant while waiting for a good flip opportunity. The piece names Roman Abramovich, and his six empty Lowndes Square apartments, said to be worth around £21 million now. But he's not alone.
Yolande Barnes, head of research at Savills, said: 'Our latest figures show that in central London one in four of newly built properties is being bought as a pure investment, not to be let out. The buyers are clearly sufficiently confident of the future increase in capital values to make this investment decision.'
Actually, the Rat and Mouse has reported before on how this trend isn't limited to the super-rich. What we want to know, is whether the Government's plan to sieze homes that have been left vacant for more than six months and fill them with council tenants will extend to Lowndes Square apartments, too.
The Rat and Mouse - now with added search [January 29, 2007]
Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate |
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And by WA Ellis, according to this, in Belgravia. It's a three-bedroom apartment and was sold for almost £12 million to anonymous foreign buyers. It's comical that the release mentions its 52 inch plasma screen - as if that's even vaguely relevant to a purchase like this.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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She was staying at the Dorchester while filming "His Dark Materials" when she spotted it - a little £12 million townhouse around the back of the Mayfair hotel - and, well, you know, just had to have it.
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Yes, it's Eaton Square, SW1... I'm not trying to pull the wool over your eyes with some other Eaton Square in, Glasgow, say. The catch is the lease, which has just another 14 years left. But, you say, you can extend a lease. That's true, I say, you can. But it might cost you a packet, say Colin & Justin, who write further about the property, here.
Two Times property journalists told "go out and spend £12 million [October 20, 2006]
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Actually, I'm not positive they were actually given the £12 million to spend... but they certainly went out on a property shopping fantasy, one to Belgravia, one to Mayfair. In Belgravia, £12 million bought 76 Eaton Square (above) - my own favourite of the two - and a sensibly modern reworking of giant three-bedroom apartment on the right side of the square. In Mayfair, the choice a slightly strange part- reconversion of a series of offices and flats back into a giant home comprising some of 44 and some of 46 next door. 44 Park Street (below) is by Northacre, and - named The Ambassadorial - goes the Ferrero Roche route in terms of ambience. Interestingly, though, there's a "curved first-floor ballroom" where Churchill once held cabinet meetings. Read the full piece here.
And here are a few photos from Northacre's Ambassadorial launch party. Security, it appears, wasn't what it should have been, and a bunch of women managed to sneak in disguised as fixtures and fittings.
  
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The New York Times's Great Homes section runs a special Knightsbridge feature. Mentioned in the doomsday book, close to Harrods, close to Harvey Nicks, village atmosphere, old Bentley's parked in the street, tall ceilings, big rooms, communal gardens... the Americans love it. There's an entertaining little slide show; and they focus on a Lowndes Square home, on the market at just over five and half million dollars. The lounge is lovely. The kitchen, too. But look at the bedroom... wouldn't you think about clearing some of the rubble of the tables? Opening the curtains? Removing the weird wall decorations? Come on, it's not like it's cheap. |
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Go visit the Telegraph for the extraordinary story of Christopher Howe's Belgravia box... a tortoise called Joey and an outside toilet. |
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The estate agents' photographs have picked up the rather desolate atmosphere of the flat, which has put many people off even viewing; those who have been enticed through the door "have been unable to visualise themselves living there", says Hannah Bentley, from estate agents Douglas and Gordon, "particularly in the bedroom, which has no bed."
Okay, call me intolerant, but in my book if you haven't consciously grasped the fact you're buying a building, and into that building you'll be putting your stuff, then you've really no business buying a property in the first place, and you deserve to live in a Transit van. And yet - according to the Telegraph - people are queueing for the services of HomeStagers, who, for a small fortune, will show you how to put the right stuff into your flat so that a prospective purchaser will temporarily go giddy with all the aspirational lifestyle crap around them and believe - for long enough to make an offer - that they're getting the whole package... gadgets, gundog and trophy wife out of a magazine, too. Interesting. Incidentally, if you own a property in Pimlico there's another reason to read the Telegraph piece... it's not the first message the Rat and Mouse has received telling us that the Pimlico market's hot and getting hotter right now. |
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According to Anne Ashworth of the Times:
Henry & James, an agent that specialises in Belgravia - the streets between Sloane Square and Knightsbridge - reports that, in one week, two buyers bought properties for £1.7 million and £10 million respectively, based purely on the descriptions.
Surely these were foreign buyers... their representatives making offers on the telephone from Russia or the Middle East? |
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... asks ThisIsMoney's most overpaid journalist Simon Lambert. Ooh, it's time for more Candy and a return to Bowater House.
Out: Bowater House, In: Crib Candy [February 27] |
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Saturday's Guardian carried news that it's all-systems-go for Knightsbridge's latest icon to excess. Bowater House is going, to be replaced by a development of 86 apartments overlooking Hyde Park. The developers are a consortium including the Bank of Scotland, the architect will be Lord Rogers and the project will be managed, and the interiors designed, by Candy & Candy. The talk is of higher than high end, with price tags reaching £20 million. |
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How sad that there will be nothing left, when the Army trucks and Land Rovers lined up on the parade ground have gone, to remind Chelsea shoppers of the military might on which their liberties have always depended.
 That's right. Brave soldiers died, so you can shop... and don't forget it. Incidentally, they're suggesting developers may pay as much as £150 million for the site. With almost 14 and a half acres on offer, let's hope somebody rises to the challenge and creates something that will look special.
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For Sale, the "cage" from which Virginia Woolfe longed to escape. For a mere £1.5 million, you could own the penthouse flat at 22 Hyde Park Gate: once the study and attic of the house where the novelist and suicide Virginia Woolfe was born and grew up. Scene of her incestuous sexual abuse and interminable misery, the walls and curtains however are no longer black and by the looks of the particulars on Hobart Slater's website the flat is really rather spiffy.
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