Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008
London property: where have all the buyers gone?
MoneyWeek: London property: where have all the buyers gone?
If the property boom isn't over, why can't interior designer Kelly Hoppen sell her much-hyped Battersea flat? Merryn Somerset Webb looks at why it's case of can't buy, won't buy amongst London's wealthy.
Posted by mary @ 11:27 AM (736 views) Add Comment
5 Comments
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1. Nathan said...
"Last week it was in the Mail on Sunday, being described by an optimistic estate agent as “a trophy flat not an investment” and by Hoppen herself as “a wonderful space to live in and entertain.”
Then she should be happy to stay there, shouldn't she?
2. cyril said...
This article talks about auctions being the best way to assess the true value of a house but it's difficult to do unless you know the area really well (also most of the houses are a bit dodgy). In last month's Allsop auction, houses seemed to be going for slightly above guide price.
3. Landedgentry said...
I dont care how gentrified Battersea now is, £5m for a flat 1min away from council estates in souf london (i am a south londoner born and bred so know what I am talking about) and the ensuing crime is ridiculous.
4. doomwatch said...
I bet Kelly is "Hoppen" mad with this article. Maybe she should learn to manage her expectations instead of blubbering to the press
for free advertising.
Another great truth article from MSW.
5. drewster said...
cyril,
Auctions represent the "spot" price and as such are the best and most up-to-date prices. Rightmove's index is based on asking price so it's a conflation of sentiment, urgency, and other factors. I think Halifax's index is based on mortgages, so it's a conflation of interest rates, lending criteria, and mortgage availability. Land Registry has real sale prices but they are published with a heavy lag, as we can see because they have only just started to show a month-on-month downturn.
The guide price is irrelevant - it's just an opinion by valuers. I don't think they even conduct a survey before guessing at a guide price.