Despite the rise in the number of Londoners looking to move to the countryside, the capital remains a global property hotspot that records dizzying prices. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the handful of roads that have topped the charts for London’s most expensive homes.
The palm goes to Upper Phillimore Gardens, in Kensington, round the corner from Holland Park, where the median sold price for the past 12 months is a staggering £28 million, according to research by mortgage broker Enness Global Mortgages. It pipped to the post the stuccoed houses of The Boltons, in South Kensington, (where previous residents included singer Madonna and actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr), which ‘only’ reached £22.5 million.
Mayfair, once the leading lady of London’s property market, makes an appearance in third place, with Grosvenor Square — one of the capital’s most sought-after addresses ever since it was developed in the early 18th century — where the median price is £18.6 million, and, in fifth place, Upper Grosvenor Street (£17.5 million).
Knightsbridge is the interloper between the Mayfair duo, taking fourth spot with Brompton Road at £17.8 million.
The rest of the list also sees Belgravia’s Lygon Place in sixth place (£15.9 million), with two addresses in the new, swanky development at the former Chelsea Barracks in seventh and tenth place (Mulberry Square, £15 million, and Whistler Square, £13.8 million).
The two remaining spots go once again to roads in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with South Kensington’s The Little Boltons (£14.1 million) in eighth and, in ninth, a Knightsbridge street that actually falls under the Kensington and Chelsea umbrella (Egerton Crescent, £13.9 million).
The Royal Borough clearly emerges as London’s property powerhouse, nabbing four and a half out of the top ten addresses (Brompton Road only falls partly into Kensington and Chelsea, with the rest in the City of Westminster).
‘With so much being made about the exodus of the average London homeowner for greener pastures, you could be forgiven for thinking that the London real estate market must have shut up shop over the last year,’ says Islay Robinson of Enness Global Mortgages.
‘Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth and, in fact, the prime London market has seen quite a large degree of activity, all things considered.’
Properties for sale in some of London’s top ten streets
Coleherne Court, The Little Boltons, £1.395 million
A two-bedroom flat that’s a perfect London pied-à-terre.
Egerton Crescent, £15.9 million
A Grade II-listed, seven-bedroom house with private garden.
Whistler Square £8.25 million
A large, three-bedroom duplex finished to exceptional standards
Credit: Knight Frank
The best country houses for sale this week
Catch up on the best houses that have come up for sale via Country Life in the last few weeks.
-
Oh, my gourd, it’s Hallowe’en: How best to decorate your home with pumpkins, squashes and moreAs the feast of All Hallow’s Eve approaches, Debora Robertson advises how best to decorate your home with autumn's edible bounty.
-
A Cotswolds property that's the strangest mix of old and new we've ever seen... and yet somehow, it all worksThe Gasworks is a house quite unlike anything you've seen before — or at least anything you've seen all in one place. Toby Keel takes a closer look.
-
A Cotswolds property that's the strangest mix of old and new we've ever seen... and yet somehow, it all works
The Gasworks is a house quite unlike anything you've seen before — or at least anything you've seen all in one place. Toby Keel takes a closer look.
-
A country house near Windsor that could be straight from the pages of a Jilly Cooper novelPenny Churchill looks at the beautiful polo-lover's sanctuary that is Barkham Square Park.
-
The factory that once fuelled the Victorians' insatiable appetite for pianos has become a set of gorgeous, characterful apartmentsChappell & Co were a huge name in 19th century music, even working with Beethoven. Today, one of their old factories in Camden has become a series of beautiful apartments.
-
What £1 million buys you across Britain, from a Cornish cottage to a miniature castle in the HighlandsSprawling country houses, a mini-estate in Scotland and homes where the sea almost laps up at your feet are among the property options open to those with a seven-figure budget. Here's our pick of the best £1 million houses for sale across the land.
-
The Hampshire home of a Victoria Cross-winning British WWI ace fighter pilot is for sale, with lake, chapel and some of the best fishing rights in EnglandPenny Churchill looks at Longparish House, a north Hampshire haven on the River Test.
-
Five superb country homes, from under £1 million to £20 million, as seen in Country LifeOur look at some the best homes to come up for sale via Country Life in the past week includes a Wiltshire dream home and a vast Kent mansion that's an easy commute to the City.
-
Rock stars and the country house: Liam Gallagher's life in the Cotswolds is in the finest tradition of music A-listers, from The Beatles to BeyoncéWhat is it about the British countryside that draws A-listers from every walk of life? With Liam Gallagher's Cotswold former home on the market, Toby Keel takes a look.
-
Life on Portugal's Coast of Kings, where Ian Fleming met the triple-agent whose gambling inspired 'Casino Royale'Once a quiet fishing village west of Lisbon, Cascais became an unlikely hive of activity during the Second World War, attracting regal refugees and intelligence operatives in equal measure. Russell Higham investigates its enduring glamour — and its connection to Casino Royale.
