Landing on a fully-developed 'Mayfair' square while playing the UK version of Monopoly will cost the unfortunate player a fortune - unless, of course, they own the deed.
Art, in this case, absolutely imitates life. Earlier this year, a property on Ashburton Place in Mayfair, London, sold to a private buyer for £38.6mn. It is the most expensive property purchase of the year to date.
An earlier listing for a penthouse purchase in a gated building on Ashburton Place fetched more than £19mn back in 2019, while even two-bedroom apartments in Clarges, Mayfair (shown in the image above), are being listed for £9mn to £10mn apiece.
This price reflects the continuing popularity of prime central London property, which has diminished neither in price nor appeal despite Covid-19, Brexit and geopolitical turbulence sending ripples through the UK economy.
According to data from eXp UK, a platform for personal estate agents, the gap between the top and bottom end of the property market across England and Wales currently sits at 183,900 per cent - a difference in sold price of more than £38.6mn.
Even hotspots just outside of the capital, in the so-called commuter belt, have been commanding top dollar - or, rather, 'top pound'.
In the south-east of England, for example, the most expensive home sold in 2023 to date went for £20.75mn, some 47,601 per cent more than the region’s most affordable sale at £43,500.
Capital preservation in the capital
Who is buying these properties? According to upmarket lenders and estate agencies, the world's wealthy are splashing their cash in London.
Rich Asian buyers in particular have fallen for London's allure - but what is it about the capital that is attracting buyers from Asia Pacific countries?
Capital preservation is the biggest draw for rich families who want to preserve and pass on wealth, rather than invest it all in the markets, according to some commentators.
Alpa Bhakta, chief executive of high-net-worth lender Butterfield Mortgages, says: “The City of Westminster, the Royal Boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, and some parts of Hammersmith, Fulham and Chelsea continue to dominate the capital’s prime property investment landscape.
“Indeed, with their period properties, green spaces and proximity to cultural and historical landmarks, these prime central London boroughs continue to be the most sought-after for Asian HNWIs."
In line with the Adam Smith theory of economics, demand is high and supply is low. Therefore, properties in these areas preserve their value to a greater extent than the rest of the market, and value preservation is important to wealthy Asian families.
Bhakta explains: “In Knightsbridge, for example, prices rose by 3.3 per cent in the year to July 2023, while average prices across London fell by 0.8 per cent.
"Evidently, sticking to heartland of the PCL market, with its enduring appeal and limited availability could prove attractive to investors seeking resilient real estate assets.”
