Kensington and Chelsea Now Attract £1million Plus Per Home.

Britain is in the middle of a property slump where a lot of people are finding themselves in negative equity due to the drop in property prices. However this is certainly not the case for the affluent borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the heart of London. Land Registry figures show that over the last year property prices have jumped a staggering 11.6% and it has now become Britain’s most exclusive neighbourhood. Most areas in the country have witnessed property price drops but in this central London borough prices are surging.

Property prices in this borough have now broken through the £1million barrier and this is just for your average home, nothing flashy. Figures show that the “average property price” here is £1,022,515. In Sloane Avenue in Chelsea £1million will simply buy you a one bedroom flat, which is located on the 7th floor of a mansion block. The property only has a small kitchen for that price but does include a 24-hour porter. The seller is asking more than six times the amount of an average home in England and Wales for his one bedroom flat because it is located in the Royal London borough.

However those homeowners who bought their properties more than 15 years ago are reaping the rewards. The average property price at the time was just £240,000 that has now quadrupled in price if they still own the property in the borough. Space is at a premium in the capital, in nearby Knightsbridge a double garage has been put up for sale for an astonishing £525,000. Estate agents in the region believe that it is the surge of foreign investors into London’s real estate that is causing property prices in the capital to keep going up and up. In the past year 55% of the property sales in the capital have been to non-Britons, mostly Russian, Indian and French buyers.

Estate agents have also found that some buyers never actually live in the properties that they buy but will still not rent them out, such is the amount of wealth in the capital. Because of these types of sales property prices in the borough have risen by £100,000 in the last year alone. This is nearly the cost of an average home in many parts of the country.

Many investors from abroad see London as a safe haven to invest their money into. Buyers come from all over the world to buy a piece of London real estate, from Nigeria, Ireland, France, Italy and Iran to name just a few. However property prices have fallen quite dramatically in other parts of the country, such as in Yorkshire and Humberside where property prices peaked at £145,227 in December 2007. However compare this to today’s average house price of £115,783 and you can see the North South divide in all its glory. The £1million asking price for the small one bedroom flat in Chelsea could also get you Llwynhelig House in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, one of its more affluent areas. This six bedroom and three bathroom Grade II listed property built in the 14th century also comes with six acres of land and an outdoor heated pool.
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