Property premiums neighbouring London parks as high as 144%

Research from Benham and Reeves, a lettings and estate agent based in London, shows that despite homebuyers having to pay 50% over the London average for house prices to live near one of the many distinguished parks in the city, there are some handy bargains where prices can be shown to be up to -9.6% below the usual average for houses in London.

With an astounding 3,000 parks across London, Behnam and Reeves has discovered just how much extra those looking to buy homes will be set back if they are intent on living next to the 13 most popular parks that the capital has to offer.

Living near London’s top 13 parks in terms of popularity is naturally accompanied by a sizeable property premium, selling for an average of £896/sq. ft, which is £292 more, or 48.5%, above the London average.

The costliest park of them all to live next to in London is Kensington Gardens, home to the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace. Homes in the area sell for an average of £1,474/sq. ft which is 144.2% above the city average, making it the most expensive park-associated property premium in the city.

Some of the city’s other, most expensive park premiums can be found near St. James’s Park (105.1%), Battersea Park (87.6%), and Regent’s Park (70.9%).

Homes near Green Park, located directly between Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly, sell for £1,408, which is a premium of 133.2%, while Hyde Park boasts a premium of 132.6%. 

Despite parkside life in these locations being most suitable for only the wealthiest of buyers, there are some equally noteworthy London parks where homes can be purchased for a much more forgiving price.

The most affordable among London’s premier parks is Crystal Palace Park, the prized gem of South East London. It was initially created to serve the function of a Victorian Amusement Park, and was previously home to the Crystal Palace Exhibition Building until the infamous fire in 1936. Neighbouring houses are sold for an average price of £546/sq. ft which is -9.6% less than the wider London average.

Bushy Park in Richmond commands a premium of just 2.2%, and properties near Greenwich Park are priced just 6.2% above the London average.

Marc von Grundherr, the Director of Benham and Reeves commented: “London’s parks are one of its greatest attributes, helping rank the capital in the global top ten cities for green space. Many of these parks are small, hidden gems, but the ones contained in this list are among the greatest the country has to offer, so it’s no surprise that nearby house prices tend to be so incredibly high.”

von Grundherr added: “Despite this, there are still some great deals to be found, though it’s worth bearing in mind that because demand for open space living is so high at the moment, properties are going to be hard to come by and so competition is going to be stiff.”

(This article was written by Raphael Ogunlaru)