Property features

House-warming for Stanmore agent

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:55:29 +0000

Harrow East MP Bob Blackman has opened Stanmore estate agent Preston Bennett's newly refurbished offices. More than 200 guests came to the relaunch party. Mr Blackman told guests that Preston Bennett has "had a long association with the property market - for over 50 years - and a reputation that is the envy of many. I wish them every success for the future."

Preston Bennett managing director Sue Fisher adds: "We are extremely excited about the attractive, contemporary look of our new offices, which we are sure will be welcomed by all our clients and business partners, judging by the enthusiastic attendance at our opening."

The refurbishment is not confined to bricks and mortar. Preston Bennett also has a new, more dynamic website, which is easier to use and navigate. It also has a redesigned logo.

Ms Fisher says: "The new logo retains our instantly recognisable livery of blue and gold around which all our departments revolve - Residential Sales; New Homes; Fine Homes; Planning, Land & Development; Lettings & Management and new Commercial & Professional. It will also be quickly visible on our 'for sale' and 'sold' boards in the area."

"As part of our substantial investment in the latest back-office software, we have enhanced the Preston Bennett website to make it easier to navigate and especially for buyers to select their new home. The search for a new home is also more user-friendly, with greater accuracy in selection criteria; photos can be prioritised and searches saved. Vendors can also be assured that their property is featured against a host of selection criteria, to make it as visible as possible to potential buyers.

"It also includes comprehensive information on the full range of property services that we offer and the professional, informed advice that we can provide. Our up-to-date knowledge of the local property market and what is happening in the future has proved invaluable to our clients - with our news updates an important feature."

This year started well for Preston Bennett, with real signs of a strengthening in the local property market and a substantial increase in activity from sellers and buyers. "These seeds of optimism have encouraged potential sellers to instruct us to actively market their homes. In the month of March alone, we also launched three new developments for regional and national developers," says Ms Fisher.

Among the March launches, Lime Tree Close, Chiltern Avenue, Bushey is already more than 50 per cent sold. Built by Banner Homes in a gated close, there are six four- and five-bedroom family houses, with three storeys, pitched roofs, bay windows and gables. One semi and two detached houses are still available, from £675,000.

Heywood, on Uxbridge Road, Stanmore, consists of six houses and 11 apartments, by Notting Hill Housing. Close to Stanmore tube, the development is aimed at first-time buyers.

Cedar Place, off Grants Close, Mill Hill, is the third scheme to launch in March. The eight four-bedroom townhouses, built over three floors by Moody Homes, are in a quiet location near Mill Hill East tube station. These family homes are close to all the area's amenities, including motorway and other transport links, shops and supermarkets, leisure facilities, restaurants, hospitals and schools. Prices start from £499,950.

All of these new homes are on the books of Preston Bennett.

Auctions go for gold

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:37:38 +0000

The high point of 2012 is more to do with sport than real estate, for most property auctioneers. In a market where buyer confidence is king, everyone is hoping for a boost in the summer, as the London Games provides a mini boom.

Strettons celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2011. Philip Waterfield of Strettons says there is little positive sentiment for 2012 and "we are sure to face similar trading conditions as 2011. The only positive respite is perhaps the Olympic Games and the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations."

Felix Rigg of Jones Lang LaSalle predicts a year of two halves. "It's going to start pretty miserable," he says. "Then we are going to get the Olympics, then for all sorts of reasons the second half will be better. Energy costs are coming down, inflation may start to come down and all of this may be perceived to be better than the news we have been receiving recently. The eurozone situation has been very much in people's minds. We're pummelled by that all the time."

Paul Stevens, auctioneer at Athawes, welcomes anything that could dampen the gloom. "There's the Queen's diamond jubilee, which will lift the spirits in the country and hopefully boost confidence in the property market," he says. And the Olympics should raise confidence in areas around the Olympic venues. "I would like to think 2012 will be a year of progress rather than stagnation. Last year was hard going. I wonder whether 2012 will end up being a mixed picture, however."

Andrew Binstock, of Auction House London, believes 2012 will be much the same as 2011. "I don't think there is going to be a wild change in the property market," he says. "Interest rates will stay as they are. The Olympics will be the highlight of this year.

"For us, it's always about volume. As an auctioneer, you don't mind if a flat is worth £80,000 or £90,000 as long as both buyer and vendor agree on the price. In 2011, buyers and sellers were in the same place. In 2012, there are a lot of vendors who are sitting quietly, holding on to property and hoping it will pick up in a year or two, rather than trade their vacant stock."

Ground rents sold well at Barnett Ross's December sale and among them was proof you can pick up a property for just just a few £100s. The Queen Victoria Public House in Walton, Liverpool, pays a ground rent of £7.75 a year. It is a corner pub, plus a garden and flat, let to Trust Inns, for 999 years from 1950. The freehold sold for £500.

Barnett Ross's Jonathan Ross speaks for many in the auctions world when he says: "The sentiment at the moment is that we are in for a tough 2012". Like all auctioneers, however, he remains upbeat. "There are a lot of interested buyers who are keen to see what is coming up. They have cash, but they are looking for safer investments. The banks are still being very difficult when it comes to lending.

"Going back to 2011, it was very mixed year, when some of the auctions went extremely well. Levels of interest increased, then we went to December and it was as if everyone had gone on holiday. Getting in lots suddenly proved very difficult. Starting this year, we are already busier, although I think we have to work a lot harder to extract lots from different sources. We might expect to find a lot more receivership property coming on to the market."

Strettons's Philip Waterfield says: "It would be hard for any property auction house to disagree that market conditions in 2011 were among the most difficult since the market crash four years ago. During 2011, the London and M25 market remained largely insulated from the worst of the falls in activity. However, there was pressure on prices and, according to Essential Information Group (EiG), the average cost of a residential property sold at auction dropped from £126,700 in 2010 to £119,400 in 2011. Falls were steeper in the commercial sector, reducing from an average of £252,423 to £228,733."

Jones Lang LaSalle's new auctions department, formed after its acquisition of King Sturge, sold eight of 21 properties offered on the day in its December 2011 sale. Among highlights was 47 Fulham Broadway, a five-storey mid-terrace shop with four flats. It went for £580,000. The flats have been sold off on long leases.

Jones Lang LaSalle's former auction department left en masse to set up Acuitus, whose final commercial property auction of the year raised just under £18 million as buyers targeted regional investments and receivership lots. Richard Auterac, Acuitus auctioneer, comments: "Investments in London have been predominantly at the top of buyers' lists, but at this auction there was also demand for substantial investments in major UK cities including Liverpool, Southampton and Newcastle. Buyers are more receptive to a variety of opportunities than received wisdom might indicate.

"Bidding was also competitive on the receivership lots. Among these was the outstanding sale of the day: the ground rent investment in the Travelodge Hotel in Harlow, which sold for £1.875 million, a yield of 3.5 per cent."

Continued strong demand for assets in London and the South-East was demonstrated by the £1.25 million sale of a Wembley pub at £200,000 above its guide price and the sale on behalf of receivers of a freehold shop let to Ladbrokes on Chatham High Street, bought for £772,000 at a yield of 6.7 per cent and almost 25 per cent above its guide price.

Robin Cripp, Andrews & Robertson's auctioneer, also found buyers looking further afield. He says: "A most notable change in buying trends at our final auction of 2011 was the upbeat demand for keenly priced properties in locations beyond the capital.

"Throughout the year, property with London postcodes has dominated buyers' lists, but at this auction there was also demand for homes and commercial stock in locations around the UK, including Norfolk, Tyne and Wear, Lancashire, County Antrim, West Midlands and Ayrshire, for an average price of around £60,000 that made good returns in rental yields.

"Clearly buyers are receptive to tapping into the potential of a wider spectrum of opportunity than they have been for some time. It also tells us that if stock is priced correctly, it will sell."

Evidence of demand for assets in London and the South-East included the £570,000 sale of a vacant freehold four-storey house in Camberwell, SE5, offered with a guide of £475,000 plus on behalf of Southwark council.

A freehold former shop in London's Spitalfields, arranged as a three-floor house and guided at £525,000 plus, was knocked down at £552,000.

Success rates at the December 8 auction at London's Grand Connaught Rooms, WC2, closed at 74 per cent, slightly above the national average. Post-sale demand pushed figures to £9 million and Mr Cripp believes this "would rise to over £10 million and 80 per cent within days".

Allsop's Duncan Moir says 2012 is likely to show an increase in volumes of distressed stock coming to the market. "Whether that proves to be a good thing remains to be seen," he says. "It's going to be helpful having a large volume coming through, as long as it is at a price the market is prepared to pay."

Allsop held seven residential sales in 2011, offering more than 200 properties and realising nearly £300 million. It achieved 87 per cent success for the year (industry average is 73 per cent).

"Each sale offered a different blend of stock and range of values," says auctioneer Gary Murphy. "Each was an important reflection of market activity and sentiment at that time. Despite the challenges posed by economic instability, the Allsop auction rooms remained busy, with competitive bidding driving strong prices. Our end-of-year sale was one of the most buoyant rooms we have witnessed since the peak."

Allsop's December residential auction was a bumper nine-hour event at The Park Lane Hotel ballroom, with more than 2,000 bidders. Of the 275 residential and mixed-use lots on offer, 229 were sold for a total value exceeding £41.2 million. The 84 per cent success was a boost for market confidence.The mix of stock was broad and ranged in value from £1,250 to £1.91 million. Seven lots sold for £1 million or more.

Of the lots that sold above reserve, 24.3 per cent was the average excess achieved. Remote bidding was considerably up. Among properties sold was 41 Christchurch Hill, NW3. A freehold end-of-terrace building, it includes a self-contained maisonette and six studio units. Sold for the administrator of a property company, the maisonette is subject to a regulated tenancy, four of the studio units are on assured shorthold tenancies and two studio units are vacant. Guided at £750,000-£800,000, it sold for £1.15 million.

"Bidding was very brisk on most lots right from the start," says Mr Murphy. Bids were frequently advanced in large leaps as less bullish buyers were quickly left behind. It was a great auctioneering experience."

Mark Tanton, managing director of Countrywide Property Auctions, looks to a "growing number" of first-time buyers and home-movers considering the auction market as a way to purchase or sell. "We expect this to continue in 2012, as more sellers are looking for a quick sale, while buyers are looking to purchase realistically priced properties," he says. "We are seeing greater demand from private vendors looking to sell their properties through auction - many see it as an opportunity to showcase their properties to a wider breadth of potential buyers. One of the main attractions for sellers is the speed of sale - the drop of the gavel signals an exchange of contracts and sales complete in just 20 working days."

Oliver Childs of Lambert Smith Hampton moved from Savills at the start of the year; the rest of the team came from Colliers CRE a little earlier. "While we would like to have big catalogues and high-value stock, there is limited stock available," he says. "So we would rather put together a catalogue of saleable lots, which will allow us to maintain success rates to give confidence to the market."

Lambert Smith Hampton has five auctions planned for London in 2012. Its next catalogue contains 29 lots, valued in the region of £6 million to £7 million. "Our expectation is that auctions will be a lot bigger, going forward," says Mr Childs. "Our October auction, for example, had more than 70 lots.We have been selling for a number of banks, both on the occupational side and for their distressed stock, as well as for LPA receivers. However, we are still not seeing that many properties coming through from receivers, though we expect that to change this year. Cornwall County Council, NHS Wales and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are clients."

As for 2012, "Will the market improve for typical secondary stock improve? Will funding improve?" asks Mr Childs. "Both of those are no. Will this be the year when these clients are in a position to offload stock at a level which the market will buy it? Yes, I think so."

Most auctioneers have a jaundiced view of retail property. "The high street is going to continue to suffer this year," says Mr Ross. "Rents have to be controlled carefully, tenants have got to have their hands held and all co-operation needs to go to them if they are going to survive. Landlords are seeing they can't afford to let a tenant go just to protect other local assets.

"I expect yields will shift further in the first half of this year. You are well into double-digit yields for many types of poor or average secondary or tertiary stock. We are guiding at 10 and 11 per cent. Vendors' expectations are certainly softening. Values can be 20 or 30 per cent down on 2007."

Mr Binstock agrees, especially for empty property. "Secondary commercial vacant property is as undesirable as it can get," he says.

Mr Moir points to an increasing feeling of reality creeping into the banks' property managers, "which is encouraging". He adds: "I think we are seeing a glimmer of light in the banking sector to lend to the property sector, too. The downside is that we have got more pain to come on the high street, which is always difficult for the property market. We have an overhang in the office sector, but 2012 will show quite a lot of opportunities to the well-funded and cash-rich investor to pick up some interesting opportunities."

Allsop made four profitable forays to Ireland in 2011. In partnership with Dublin-based property consultancy Space, it achieved 92 per cent success at Ireland's largest-ever property auction in December. It offered 108 properties to a packed room. Half way through the sale, 1,600 bidders had attended and 31 properties received remote overseas bids. The total amount raised was 11.4 million euros (around £9.5 million).

Mr Murphy says: "In 2011 we have sold 51 million euros' worth (£42.5 million) of property and clearly established that there is a market in Ireland when properties are priced sensibly and the open market establishes true value in a transparent environment."

Highest price achieved on the day was 630,000 euros (£525,000). Lot 109, Dublin 4, a commercial building containing two restaurants, was offered with a maximum reserve of 485,000 euros (£400,000). A detached, four-bedroom lakeside house with access to tennis courts and a marina, in County Cavan, with a maximum reserve of 50,000 euros (£41,000), sold for 131,000 euros (£109,000).

Best billionaire homes in the world?

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:38:48 +0000

Bankers and politicians may be running a bit short, but that is not denting the spending power of the world's billionaires. Global wealth has increased in the past five years, with the number of billionaires increasing by 20 per cent in the past year alone. According to agent Beauchamp Estates, this has had an effect on the London property market, with many billionaires within the Asia Pacific area choosing to invest in London. This is reflected in a 59 per cent increase in the number of sales over £5 million in the first nine months of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010.

Beauchamp has produced a report which shows why top London property is selling so well. It maintains that London continues to offer tangible benefits for foreign investors. Globally, a high proportion of the offspring of high-wealth individuals are choosing to study in the UK. This makes purchasing London property an even more pragmatic and tempting proposition.

The exchange rate continues to attract foreign investors. Buyers in currencies most active in the London market are still able to buy at a lower price than at the peak of the market in 2008 - especially Thai and Singapore purchasers, who can acquire property at a 19 per cent discount compared to three years ago.

Beauchamp points out that only certain kinds of property appeal to these buyers. Overseas purchasers continue to reject London townhouses in favour of purpose-built luxury apartments. Investors who are used to having large lateral living spaces in their home markets do not see the appeal of the London townhouse, with its many floors and multitude of smaller rooms.

This preference towards lateral living space is reflected in the fact that the values per sq ft of flats over £5 million are at a 27.3 per cent premium compared to houses of the same size.

Beauchamp has recently come back from a trip selling property in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, where it has had significant success in the market for £500,000-to-£1 million off-plan apartments.

Among schemes where it has sold apartments is one close to Upper Street in Islington, where studios start at £485,000, one-bedrooms at £550,000 and two-bedrooms at £835,000. The building will not be completed until 2014.

Beauchamp's Gary Hersham says; "The typical profile of a Far Eastern purchaser is very different from the home market. Primarily he has his eye on capital growth and given that most purchasers are already holding a portfolio of five or six properties, they have already proved to themselves the value of investment in London property."

Research by estate agent Savills points out that, when it comes to a billionaire choosing a home, London faces significant competition from the Far East. Its 10-city global billionaire index saw values rise 10 per cent in first six months of 2011.

Savills says that Hong Kong is in a league of its own in value terms, more than twice the value of London (£6,700 versus £3,090 per sq ft).

Tokyo is number two in terms of £psf and in terms of size, making this the most expensive of any world-class city for the ultimate home, at £83 million. Singapore (144 per cent), Mumbai (138 per cent) and Moscow (110 per cent) recorded the greatest five-year growth to end 2010.

"We recently identified 10 world-class cities whose real-estate markets have more in common with each other than the mainstream markets of the countries in which they operate and they are all attracting billionaires' dollars, whether generated at home or overseas," says Yolande Barnes, director of residential research at Savills.

"Global billionaires can make any country their home, and often have several different residences across the globe. Most will seek a base where they are doing business.

"This has the effect of funnelling global equity into the very best residential real estate - a rare commodity in any city.

"Billionaire buyers demand the best international standards of accommodation and are paying prices to match, creating a super-class of global billionaire homes."

Auctions in clover

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:46:10 +0000

Allsop is claiming Ireland's largest property auction, held in Dublin at the beginning of December. Some 108 properties were offered to a packed room of domestic and international buyers. At the halfway point, around 1,600 bidders had attended and 31 properties received remote overseas bids. At time of writing, 99 lots had sold, a success rate of 91 per cent. The total raised was 11.4 million euros (around £9.75 million).

Gary Murphy, director and auctioneer for Allsop Space, says: "During 2011, we have sold 51 million euros' worth (£43.7 million) of property and clearly established that there is a market in Ireland when properties are priced sensibly and the open market establishes true value in a transparent environment." Highest price achieved on the day was 630,000 euros (£540,000). Lot 109, Dublin 4, a commercial building with two restaurants, was offered with a maximum reserve of 485,000 euros (£415,000). Another highlight was a four-bedroom lakeside house with access to tennis courts and a marina in Shercock, County Cavan, maximum reserve 50,000 euros (£43,000). It sold for 131,000 euros (£112,000).

Back in the UK, Savills' residential auction in October raised £30.895 million with an 83 per cent success rate. Auctioneer Christopher Coleman-Smith says: "This was the best result for any London auctioneer in October. It demonstrated that there is still an appetite for people buying at auction despite the economic climate." One of the main reasons for success was the diverse range of properties, but the strongest lots were in London. A studio flat in Pimlico (guide: £200,000) sold for £310,000 and a derelict community centre with D1 use in Feltham, Middx (guide: £800,000) sold for £1,050,000.

On offer at the next Savills auction, on December 12, is 75 Iver Lane, Cowley, Uxbridge, a cottage (with 70ft garden) in need of modernisation and refurbishment, guided at £170,000.

A general shortage of well-priced quality residential stock with London postcodes pushed prices well above guides at Andrews and Robertson's October auction. Sums spent at the sale closed at almost £13 million and strong post-auction demand pushed success rates to 72 per cent within hours. Prices averaged £196,000. Robin Cripp, senior auctioneer, says: "As economic instability continues to cause anxiety in the wider markets, buyers are looking very closely at property in London locations and have faith. This geographical area is our home ground."

Bright career move

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:49:29 +0000

Four apartments have already sold in the first week at Aldenham Square, directly opposite Bushey station.

The 47 one- and two-bedroom apartments are proving popular with commuters, offering a journey time into Euston of only 19 minutes. The centre of Watford, with its many shopping, dining, entertainment and leisure facilities, is a short drive from Aldenham Square, while connection to the motorway network, with access to London's main airports, is just over two miles away.

"Our launch was perhaps the best this year, with over 50 buyers and investors eager to see around the show apartments," says Lee Martin, director of Preston Bennett New Homes.

The show apartment and the marketing suite at the development are open daily from 10am until 5pm, to cater for demand.

Open-plan living is a feature of the development and the large windows fill the space with natural light.

Oak flooring in the living area and hallways is complemented by fitted carpets in the bedrooms and a fully tiled bathroom.

The two-bedroom apartments also have an en-suite shower room for the main bedroom.

The fitted kitchens at Aldenham Square contain integrated appliances - electric oven, gas hob, microwave, dishwasher, washer/dryer, fridge/freezer and extractor.

There is one allocated underground parking space per apartment in the communal grounds of the development. Prices start at £195,000 (for the one-bedroom apartments) and £249,950 (two-bedroom).

There are launch incentives for first-time buyers, who can have their three per cent stamp duty paid on November reservations and for investors, who are offered guaranteed yields for the first year after completion.

Call the dream team

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:49:28 +0000

self-build and renovation projects and is launching the "Your Fusion" marque.

Fusion's Warren Rosenberg says: "More frequently than ever, money-no-object house-hunters are not just looking for a dream home. They are looking for their dream home, one with their thumbprint indelibly stamped into the bricks and mortar of the property and the very soul of the place. They want to weave their own personalities and style into their luxury home.

"The dream is often out of reach, not because of price, but because of the maze of planning issues, architectural considerations, sourcing of materials, interior design and general project management. Your Fusion provides a one-stop shop of housebuilding advice. Should funding be an issue, it can even help with an application to your lender, or source loans on the best terms for your circumstances."

Your Fusion's Antoine Christoforou says: "The Fusion team works all day, every day on planning, design and construction details for our own projects - and now we are able to offer our expertise out to private clients within a highly tailored service."

The company recently won the Oscar of the property world at the UK Property Awards in London. Its Amara Lodge in Hadley Wood was voted best development in Hertfordshire.

Lots of variety at auction

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:59:01 +0000

You get 57 varieties of lot at auctions these days. Gone are the sales when you would expect to find just the typical auction fare of receivership properties and ground rents.

Acuitus's October auction raised a total of £26 million from 40 properties. Acuitus auctioneer Richard Auterac cites the "extraordinary breadth" of asset type that sold at the firm's latest auction as being indicative of the current nature of the market place.

He says: "The auction house's job in today's market is not just about prime investment-grade assets. This sale demonstrated that vividly - there were prime retail units selling at yields of just over five per cent, but there was also demand for the empty regional office blocks - essentially speculative investments.

"I've never known a market where there is such a range of investment criteria from across our buying clients.

"This presents a huge challenge in bringing properties to the market. Accordingly, we don't see our responsibilities beginning and ending in the auction room. We have to engage intensively with vendors, understand their pricing and be certain about the reasoned advice we give."

Acuitus's fifth auction of the year got off to an emphatic start, with the ground rent investment of a 16,000 sq ft shop in Chesterfield let to Primark selling for £705,000 at a yield of 3.6 per cent. A packed and lively room then snapped up assets including two freehold retail investments in London's Marylebone and Islington at £1.68 million and £1.21 million respectively - both at yields of around five per cent.

Commenting on the overall sale rate of 63 per cent, Mr Auterac says: "This doesn't show a lack of buying power in the market, it just illustrates how specific buyers are being. Where buyers get assets that match their needs, they are very aggressive in their bidding. Just under a quarter of the lots that sold today did so at yields of less than six per cent and post-auction interest already indicates that further sales will complete".

At Andrews and Robertson's latest September auction, revenues rose to £13 million. With uncertainty over the wider economy heightening and volatility in the stock market continuing, bidders looked for stability in bricks and mortar, with many investors chasing good commercial covenants, residential projects in quality locations including those with a London postcode, while other buyers carefully sought out revenue and high-yielding stock, or lots with potential to add value. Almost £12 million was raised on the day and investor demand for stock continued pushing success rates to 60 per cent and receipts to almost £13 million.

Some of the strongest individual results where prices significantly exceeded guides occurred on behalf of motivated sellers: they included receiverships and mortgagee-in-possessions as well as lots offered on behalf of private vendors seeking a swift and secure transaction.

Robin Cripp, senior auctioneer, says: "It is fair to say that buyers are being selective and remain extremely price-sensitive. They are looking for a secure home for their money; often they prefer to buy in an area which they know well, while others are willing to look beyond their region. London and the South-East remains a favourite area for investment; we are also seeing a number of overseas buyers who consider the UK to be a secure base as uncertainty over the Euro-zone continues to grow."

UK's best homes

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:59:01 +0000

The UK's leading property developers gathered at The Lancaster London Hotel, Hyde Park, London at the end of October for the announcement of the winners of the hotly contested UK Property Awards, in association with Bloomberg Television and Google.

North London housebuilder Fusion Residential won the best development (multiple units) category for Amara Lodge, its apartment block, in Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire.

Antoine Christoforou, Fusion partner, says: "The whole team are thrilled to have been recognised in these prestigious awards. An enormous amount of time and effort went into the design and specification of Amara Lodge by everyone involved and to be honoured in this way shows our dedication has been so worthwhile."

The UK accolades are part of the International Property Awards, one of the world's most prestigious property competitions. Judging involves a panel of more than 80 experts, covering every aspect of the property business. Stuart Shield, awards president, says, "I enjoy having the chance to meet some of the UK's finest developers who, in spite of facing real market challenges, have been able not only to meet them but also to excel over them."

Luxurious lodgings

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:18:52 +0100

More than half of the 25 apartments at Wheston Lodge, in Woodside Park, north London have sold in just three months. There is a choice of one- and two-bedroom apartments, including duplexes and penthouses. The development has been popular not only with young professionals but also with foreign investors and those buying property for their children studying in London.

Thornsett Group built Wheston Lodge in the former grounds of a church, Marian House. The accommodation is on five floors, in a red-brick rendered building. It comes with 22 off-street parking spaces, behind gates.

The Wheston Lodge kitchens have worktops by Lechner, with quartz stone in the penthouses. There are also oak floorboards and built-in stainless steel appliances (Bosch in apartments and Siemens in penthouses) including electric oven, microwave, cooker hood and electric hob. Bathrooms have chrome fixtures.

Bernadette Cunningham, director of Thornsett Group, says: "Having launched a mere three months ago, we are extremely pleased with the sales already achieved at Wheston Lodge.

"The development provides the perfect combination of a fantastic, leafy location, great transport links into central London and, of course, homes that have been built to the exacting standards for which the Thornsett brand has become renowned."

Holden Avenue is close to the North London International School, as well as David Lloyd Leisure Club and the North Middlesex and South Herts Golf courses.

Woodside Park underground station is two minutes' walk away and the area has several synagogues.

Prices start at £275,000 for a one bedroom apartment. Agents are Jeremy Leaf & Co and Becketts Estate Agents.

Auction action

Charlie Jacoby — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:18:50 +0100

On the day that PWC predicted house prices "won't recover until 2020" and the RICS declared that the UK property market remained in stalemate, Allsop restored confidence by raising £47 million from 82 per cent of lots offered at its July 14 residential auction. This success brings the firm's receipts from property auction sales in just two weeks to more than £119 million. The total includes UK commercial sales of £57.3 million and Irish property disposals of 16.2 million euros (about £14.2 million).

Buyer demand at the July 14 sale was extremely strong, as a packed room saw seasoned investors and first-time buyers competing for lots. In all, 236 properties were successfully sold.

Gary Murphy, partner and auctioneer, comments: "Recent market commentary is at odds with our experience in the auction room. Buyers were competing hard and some were complaining that prices were too high."

One of the most popular deals of the day was a penthouse apartment overlooking the Olympic Stadium. The family who made the winning bid has had a recent flurry of success at Allsop auctions, having bought a penthouse in Dublin on July 7. A bid of £435,000 secured a three-bedroom apartment with unrivalled views of the Olympic stadium. They will be new landlords to the BBC, which will use the apartment as its anchor studio during the games.

Another highlight was 19 Buckingham Road, Canons Park, HA8. Sold by the London Borough of Harrow, it is a freehold building on a site of about 0.125 hectares (0.31 acres) occupied by a two-storey office building and parking for 18 cars. There is potential for change of use to community or educational (D1), subject to consents. It went for £1.075 million (guide: £700,000 plus).

The morning saw a broad selection of regulated tenancy investments, comprising individual houses and flats, 17 on behalf of a quoted vendor. Yields established under the hammer averaged four per cent (national average for H1 2011 is 4.26 per cent). Buyers included private investors, corporate specialists and tenants. The sale lasted almost 10 hours, ending with a ground-rent session of 49 lots, many with low income but valuable reversions. "The ground rent market is pretty resilient" says Mr Murphy. "Specialist investors were out in force, but are evidently disciplined when it comes to setting limits on bidding for this type of stock."