Suburban Super-prime Properties – Fit for a King
- House prices in London have grown by 8.1 per cent year on year
- Opulence is in and shabby chic out
- Wentworth plot sizes protected by covenants
With property prices in London continuing to grow, more and more people are considering their options to retreat to the country. London house prices soared by 8.1 per cent in a year to record highs, official figures revealed in August and many are finding London property prices unacceptable. Another report on the London property market delivered by CBRE, providers of global commercial real estate services, announced that annual growth in prime central London has reached 9.6 per cent. Undoubtedly it depends where you draw the line for central London but either way these are hugely significant increases.
Areas of upmarket Surrey have been seeing a rise in the number of buyers considering the move to the country as a knock on effect. Barton Wyatt, the leading estate agency in Virginia Water, which sits on the North Surrey/South Berkshire border, has seen a 20 per cent rise in applicants with London postcodes over the past 12 months.
Estate agents such as Barton Wyatt are noticing an influx of families who are loath to purchase an overpriced house in central London when they can opt for country style living with an acre of land. Savvy developers in up-market Surrey have jumped on this band wagon and have been buying up tired, older-style houses in their droves, with the aim of knocking them down and replacing them with luxury modern mansions. And these homes are teeming with all the luxury mod cons that you might expect from 21st century living.
“Opulence is definitely in and shabby chic out,” according to James Wyatt, Partner of Barton Wyatt. “Our mid 40’s client base are international jetsetters and they recognise the quality of 5* living in Manhattan, Hong Kong and Dubai. Quite rightly they want the same level of quality in their homes. Developers build houses fit for kings in Wentworth, as it is not unknown for royalty to be living side by side with the rest of us.”
With house prices in Surrey more reasonable than in central London, it makes complete sense for these buyers to consider their options in the Home Counties.
Newly built mansions on Wentworth come in varying shapes and sizes. But one thing is guaranteed in this luxury slice of Surrey. The size of the plots are cast in stone – in-fills are not allowed in Wentworth due to a covenant on the land, which means there is no overcrowding and your neighbours will never be able to peer over the fence. Space and seclusion do come at a cost and the price tags on some of these new build homes can be eye-watering.
Hill House has just come to the market at £11,000,000. This house, according to Barton Wyatt, is likely to be snapped up by a Russian or Khazak, who are very partial to this area, as Wentworth offers privacy in bundles. This 5 bedroom house (all with en-suites) also has excellent staff accommodation. The house has been created with the most incredible basement, which includes an indoor pool complex with steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi, changing and shower rooms, gymnasium and fabulous entertainment room. The house sits in a plot of 1.25 acres and has spacious garaging for three cars.
Hill House would be a dream home for a keen golfer. The house butts up to the East Course on Wentworth and has been designed with a golf buggy gate which leads straight out onto this highly acclaimed course, which was designed by Harry Colt.
For buyers on a tighter budget James Wyatt suggests Somerset House, at just £6,495,000. Again opulence is in abundance in this newly built home. Set over 4 floors the accommodation is vast (9500 sq ft) and this house would suit someone who loves to entertain.
Surrey has, in the main, very strict planning regulations so developers are often loath to look at greenfield sites, which invariably take longer to gain planning permission for, often at a greater cost. Knocking a property down and regenerating it has become the norm in a handful of Surrey areas. In Kingswood and St Georges Hill this rebirth of homes has become a blight on the leafy roads: reputedly St Georges Hill had 20 building sites and Kingswood had over 30 just last year. Construction lorries, vans and workers’ vehicles clog up the small roads, which were not designed to take this load of traffic.
James Wyatt comments:
“It is a modern day affliction sadly. Thankfully in Wentworth we have not seen the high numbers of rebuilds that St Georges Hill or Kingswood have been subjected too. And of course in Wentworth the plots are really substantial, so there is little need for work vehicles to be parked outside these sites. But this is modern day living and it will continue to occur. The trick is to be nice to your neighbours. It takes little time every week to check that the neighbours are happy and to pay for their windows to be cleaned occasionally!”
For more information on Hill House, Somerset House or construction in Wentworth call Barton Wyatt on 01344 843000 or visit www.bartonwyatt.co.uk.