Last year, the most expensive street for housing in London was Chester Square in the Belgravia area
ROYAL PRICE
The object that is unlikely to soon lose its leading position among the most expensive apartments in the world is a two-level penthouse located next to the royal Hyde Park. It is clear that housing worth $220 million cannot be merely elite; it must be exclusive in all aspects. In this case, it is. According to The Daily Mail, the apartment with panoramic views is located in one of London's most prestigious residential complexes in the fashionable Knightsbridge district.
The penthouse has six bedrooms, several bathrooms, living rooms, and a terrace with a pool. Naturally, all rooms boast designer furniture and the most modern household appliances. However, such a set does not surprise sophisticated buyers of luxury housing these days. Therefore, the designers added to the 'standard' set bulletproof windows, a special safe room where owners can hide in case of attack or other emergencies, a squash court, a wine tasting room, a private garage, and an air purification system capable of repelling a gas attack.
Through an underground tunnel, the apartment owner will be able to access the famous restaurant Heston Blumenthal. Also, residents will be able to use all the services provided by the nearby five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
The deal for the penthouse in Knightsbridge broke the previous world record, which belonged to an apartment on St. James's Square in the Westminster area. In 2008, it was sold for 115 million pounds sterling.
THERE IS DEMAND
The One Hyde Park residential complex, which houses the most expensive apartment in the world, was designed by renowned British architect Richard Rogers. The complex consists of four connected towers and is in the final stages of construction. The cost per square meter in the building is 64,600 pounds ($101,000) compared to 4,840 pounds on average in London. The minimum price of an apartment (there are 86 in total in the complex) is 20 million pounds. The sky-high prices do not deter buyers. According to The Daily Telegraph, 65% of the apartments have already been sold.
Local realtors are confident that the remaining part of the complex will be sold quickly. According to them, the demand for luxury housing in London is explained by the fact that for many wealthy people, having an apartment or house in the British capital is a matter of prestige. Moreover, such a purchase is also a good investment of free cash. By the way, housing prices in central London, although not yet reaching pre-crisis levels, have been rising for more than a year.
AND WHO IS THE BUYER?
The name of the buyer of the 'record' apartment was kept secret by the homeowners, the Candy brothers, Nick and Christian. Journalists could not even find out the country or region of residence of the penthouse owner. The media limited themselves to information that businessmen from Russia and the Middle East are particularly active in London's luxury housing market. Most surprisingly, the name of Roman Abramovich, whom the tabloids traditionally link to the largest purchases on the global real estate market, did not appear in the British tabloids.
According to data from consulting companies, the geography of luxury housing buyers in the British capital is quite impressive. In March of this year, Knight Frank reported that about half of the transactions for primary and secondary real estate in the city center were made by foreigners. Among foreign private investors, Russians were the leaders – 14% of all foreign buyers. Besides Russians, Italians, Americans, and French are actively buying London 'elite' housing.
Among foreign buyers of new housing, Chinese citizens lead (10.8 percent of all transactions). In second place is Singapore (9.9 percent), third is Malaysia (6.8 percent). Russians account for 3.1 percent of investments. The British themselves buy 36.9 percent of new housing in central London.
TIP FOR THE RICH
According to the popular UK real estate portal Mouseprice.com, last year the most expensive street for housing in London was Chester Square in the Belgravia area, where, in particular, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Roman Abramovich live. In 2009, several houses worth 20 million pounds sterling were sold here, and the average house price here is 6.6 million pounds. Second place in the ranking with an average house price of 6.1 million pounds is Ingram Avenue (north London), and third is Courtenay Avenue (5.9 million pounds).
Of the 20 most expensive streets in the British capital, 12 are located in the Kensington and Chelsea districts. Five streets included in the ranking are in the Barnet area. Prestigious areas of London also include Knightsbridge, Brompton, Kensington, Hampstead Heath, Bloomsbury, and Notting Hill. In general, the choice for wealthy citizens is large. For Russian elite representatives, who have already bought housing on the 'Golden Mile' and Rublyovka, it is high time to consider London housing – the heat in the Moscow region does not subside.
Sergei NIKOLAEV.
Lenta.ru