PROPERTY NEWS Zoe Dare Hall

Families make THEIR MOVE

In the heat of summer, buyers compete for homes near the best schools before the start of term, says Zoe Dare Hall

While debate rages in W8 over what should be done about Holland Park School – the so-called “socialist Eton” that has attracted the rich and famous for decades was recently downgraded from Outstanding to Inadequate by Ofsted, amid reports of a toxic culture of bullying and discrimination – some families are weighing up their options.

A school’s fortunes may change overnight, but property buyers and sellers can rarely move so fast. And super-prime Holland Park will never be solely reliant on the young family demographic for its white-stucco mansions or huge lateral apartments in developments such as Lodha’s new project Holland Park Gate, hot on the heels of No. 1 Grosvenor Square.

While Holland Park School attempts to rebuild its reputation, the area’s first-rate independent preps and the Catholic Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School remain a strong pull to buyers. Jack Davison, senior lettings manager at Marsh & Parsons in Holland Park, adds that the strong demand for family houses in his patch that began last autumn is showing no signs of waning. “We attribute it to families moving back to the capital, and houses are being let extremely quickly,” he says. Davison recently let a four-bed house on Portland Road with an asking price of £1,795 per week. It saw 12 viewings on the first day, and let for its highest price achieved since 2014.

Some families are keeping a keen eye on preps that are opening secondary schools, such as Thomas’s Battersea (though some of the lustre may be lost now that Prince George and Princess Charlotte are reportedly decamping to Windsor). Others are finding their answer a few miles west in Chiswick. Whether they have managed to buy (many have been house-hunting since the start of the pandemic) or are either opportunistic or accidental tenants who have sold up and are in rental accommodation until the right house comes up for sale, they will have battled to be settled in time for the new school year in September. And they’re fuelling eye-watering sales and rental price rises in the area.

John D Wood, which has upsized offices locally in response to a 67 per cent increase in demand from people looking to buy in W4, reports a 27.4 per cent rise year-on-year in the price of semi-detached homes in Chiswick, and a 16.2 per cent rise in detached house prices, with properties typically seeing 20+ viewings when they go on sale.

New-builds here are rare, but Chiswick Green, by Great Marlborough Estates, includes four townhouses (along with 137 apartments) costing from £1.625m through JLL and Knight Frank, whose calculations for price rises in Chiswick are a more modest 4.3 per cent over the past year, yet still outstrip prime outer London growth (3.5 per cent).

Off-market sales have become big business this year too. Almost a quarter of deals

67%

INCREASE IN DEMAND FROM PEOPLE LOOKING TO BUY IN CHISWICK (JOHN D WOOD)

£3-7M

HOMES IN ‘STRONG DEMAND’ IN NW8 (ASTON CHASE)

TOP OF THE CLASS Above: Just a short walk from the ASL, this five-bed St John’s Wood home is on sale for £10.75m through Aston Chase. Far left: For sale through JLL and Knight Frank, Chiswick Green prices start at £1.625m; Offered at £9.95m through Savills, this Battersea home is well-placed for Thomas’s

in London in 2022 have been off-market, according to LonRes property analysts, with sellers viewing it as an ideal opportunity to test the water, without the risk of their house visibly languishing on the market for months because it’s perceived as overpriced.

As if the rental market wasn’t competitive enough – dwindling stock has seen London rents rise by 14 per cent in a year – openhouse viewings “often lead to multiple offers, frequently over the asking price”, says Laura Purvor, lettings manager at John D Wood.

After two years of lockdowns, we all know what the ideal family home looks like: home offices, big garden, park nearby. Polly Wattridge, head of residential at Carter Jonas Holland Park, adds that it “has at least two storeys and is sat on a prestigious road with enough space for a family to grow. Gardens should be low maintenance but well-kept.”

She mentions one development opportunity that might appeal to a family prepared to put in some work: a freehold 5,529 sq ft building in Bayswater’s Orme Court, priced at £6.5m. It’s home to offices set over five floors, but has the possibility of being turned into a large family home overlooking Kensington Gardens.

But in the current climate of rocketing renovation costs, a project is a step too far for most buyers, who are willing to pay a

premium for something that’s already in mint condition. “I call it immediate gratification,” says Rupert des Forges, partner at Knight Frank. And it’s driving more families at the top end of the market to consider new-build flats (of the big lateral variety, with amenities on tap) rather than think “we need a house”.

European buyers at this level are more accustomed to that way of living anyway, with houses “a relatively alien concept”, des Forges adds. But growing numbers of London families are selling the house and opting for apartment life, he says. There’s an emergence of children’s amenities in new luxury developments – The Bryanston, for example, has a space dedicated to the under-eights, whose climbing walls and a sensory play space are inspired by the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

Meanwhile in north London, Mark Pollack at Aston Chase is seeing “remarkably strong demand” for houses priced £3m-£7.5m, especially if they’re close to the ASL (American School in London) in St John’s Wood. He just sold a 10,746 sq ft house in Hampstead Lane – designed by Kelly Hoppen – at £14.95m. Among the usual super-rich toys – pool, gym, spa – it had a kennel for protection dogs.

However nothing, as parents know, beats getting the place you want in the right school. And that will be the most powerful factor in family house prices anywhere. L

SOME FAMILIES ARE KEEPING A KEEN EYE ON PREPS THAT ARE OPENING SECONDARY SCHOOLS