The Neighbourhood
Belgravia has traditionally been regarded as a quieter residential area nestled between Chelsea and Pimlico/Victoria. The Northern section contains many embassies and is quite sedate but the area surrounding Elizabeth Street is much livelier and within easy walking distance of Sloane Square.
The Grosvenor Estate developed large swathes of Belgravia over the centuries and retains many freeholds today. The Financial Times reported the estate is planning to diversify the type of restaurants in the area in an effort to remain competitive with its neighbours. The main retail and dining hubs have certainly been rejuvenated. Motcomb Street and Elizabeth Street have become two of West London’s best presented high streets while redeveloped Eccleston Yards hosts a wide range of independents and attracts a younger demographic.
Belgravia’s main drawback is perhaps the lack a large park but Hyde Park and St James’ are both within walking distance. Nearby, Victoria Station offers easy transport links to most of central London.
The Market
SW1W has traditionally been one London’s most expensive postcodes although it has not performed strongly in the past decade.
Large lateral apartments outperform the market average in price per square foot terms. In recent years new build sales have accounted for a larger proportion of transactions and have outperformed the wider market – £10m+ sales frequently achieve asking price which is not common at the lower end of the market. Most notably Chelsea Barracks (not technically in Chelsea!) has performed very strongly since the site was acquired for £900m in 2007. There have been several landmark £40m+ sales in excess of £4,000 per sq ft which have distorted average sold price and price per sq ft metrics for the area. Elsewhere, developers have had success with turnkey renovations of unloved period property such as 8 Eaton Lane – a conversion of a Grade 2 Listed building into 42 luxury apartments.
Regardless of the whether we are in a fast or slow market, the regency fronted architecture of Eaton Square and Chester Square remains in high demand. Family homes with long leases here achieve similar prices to Prime Chelsea and Kensington.
