London buyers in search of enviable views of the city can expect to pay a premium of up to 137%, according to a Monday report from London agency Benham and Reeves.
The asking price of a property with a “good view”—which could be a vista of the city skyline, green space or the River Thames—is an average of £1 million (US$1.26 million), or 93% more than the overall average London house price of £525,629, the report said.
However, in the South London borough of Lambeth, a property with a view lists for an average of £1.3 million, 137% more than the average asking price is £545,537, the data showed. That’s the largest premium in the city.
“The best views that London has to offer are going to cost you a lot of money,” Marc von Grundherr, the director of Benham and Reeves, said in a statement. “It’s a case of supply and demand. In a largely flat city which is densely populated with buildings, truly majestic views are relatively few and far between.”
Merton, in South West London, has the second-biggest premium for a home overlooking a prime spot, according to the report. Buyers there can expect to pay about 120% more than the average asking price, followed by Kensington and Chelsea in Central London (109%), Lewisham in southeast London (108%) and Enfield in North London (105%).
These homeowners are relatively “immune” to downturns, von Grundherr added.
“That’s why any homeowners who are sitting on a great view can always be confident that their property will achieve a hefty price premium even in a cooling housing market,” he said. “A room with a view is akin to being within two minutes walk of a tube station—completely immune to wider market conditions and always in high demand.”
Harrow, a borough in North West London, has the smallest premium for a prime vista, the report said. There, the average cost for a good view is £602,080; a premium of just 17%, the data showed. In Brent, also in North West London, a good view will cost an additional 25%, while in West London’s Ealing, it’s an additional 26%.
https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/london-home-buyers-pay-double-for-a-room-with-a-view-4c3170b5
