Chelsea
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About Chelsea
Property to buy in Chelsea
Internationally renowned, with the designer shopping, Michelin-starred restaurants and fashionable nightlife of Sloane Street, King’s Road, Knightsbridge and Belgravia on the doorstep, Chelsea is a target for super-wealthy overseas buyers – and there’s no shortage of stunning, spacious houses and apartments to buy.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has always been a magnet for the rich and royal, once described as ‘a village of palaces’, while the King’s Road was named after Charles II. But it’s also had a strong military past, home to Chelsea Royal Hospital for invalid soldiers, Chelsea Barracks and, until recently, the Duke of York’s barracks. During the 19th century, the Cheyne Walk area was an artists’ colony for painters such as Rossetti, Whistler, Turner and Holman Hunt. This bohemian ambience was rekindled in the 1960s: Chelsea defined the ‘Swinging Sixties’, with the Beatles and Rolling Stones making the borough their home.
While it’s true to say that over half of London’s most expensive streets are in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Ed Mead, sales director of Douglas & Gordon’s Chelsea UK office is at pains to point out that his office covers a broad range of property in Chelsea – from studio flats at £200,000 up to multi-million-pound houses for sale at stratospheric prices; Douglas & Gordon currently has a house in prestigious Cadogan Place at £13 million, although even that is dwarfed by Old Swan House on Chelsea Embankment, on the market for an eye-popping £32 million! People who want to buy a flat or apartment in Chelsea will pay anything between £1 million and £2.5 million.
So who is buying these premium properties in this perennially popular area? “I’d say that 70% of our clients are foreign – which is why it’s useful that we speak seven languages in our office! World economies are doing well, so we’re seeing Indian, Russian and Chinese buyers as well as Germans and other Europeans. At the moment, London is outperforming New York as a trading market, so many clients are relocating here. It’s a very eclectic mix of people.”
It would be wrong, however, to assume that the majority of property for sale in Chelsea is impressive, embassy-size houses. In fact, Douglas & Gordon deals 60/40 split of flats and houses. Of the apartments for sale, half are conversions; half purpose built.
Despite the already high sales price of property in Chelsea, Ed has seen accommodation prices rise by 30% during 2006 and 2007. “Supply is low – many people who are thinking of selling have been holding out for even higher prices. We’ve also noticed a two-tier market: there is huge demand for houses at the £3 million plus level; under that, people have been priced out as it’s now impossible to buy a house in Chelsea for under £1 million, so they’re looking in Wandsworth, Battersea etc instead.”
This drive towards higher prices for a house or flat means that Chelsea has become even more cosmopolitan, with super-wealthy overseas clients flocking to buy in its garden squares, where security is often better. But it’s Chelsea’s reputation as a trophy address that still draws people from around the world. “Most foreigners prefer Chelsea to other parts of London because they know it.”
Property to let in Chelsea
Given that Chelsea has so much cachet as an area in which to live, it’s hardly surprising that demand is far outstripping supply when it comes to renting a flat or apartment. Nicky Chambers, lettings manager for Douglas & Gordon’s Chelsea UK office, bemoans the lack of property available for her clients, many of them relocating from overseas. “We have a shortage of both apartments and houses – especially two-bedroom properties between £700 and £900 per week – partly because landlords have been selling to take advantage of the very strong sales market. During 2006 and 2007 we have seen a huge increase in rental values, although it does vary from property to property.”
Generally, Chelsea offers a diverse range of conversion flats, mansion flats and houses to let, from one-bedroom flats (£375-600 per week) and two-bedroom flats (£500-1500 per week) up to three-bedroom properties (£900-2500 per week and houses and flats with four bedrooms at £1500-£5000 per week. The most expensive property tends to be around Sloane Square and Belgravia, or in the borough’s many garden squares.
So what is it about this upmarket area that appeals to those looking for a stylish flat, apartment or house to rent? “Chelsea is as good as it gets: it’s central and still the place to live. Proximity to good transport links into and out of London is still very important. Chelsea is popular with everyone, from young single people through to families, who are attracted by the good schools here. They all love the shopping and nightlife, plus the fact that it’s safe.”
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