Property prices in UK’s most expensive street soar, survey reveals

Chester Square in Belgravia, London, held on to its title as the most expensive place to live in 2010, with the average property there costing £6.6 million, according to a report from housing information website Mouseprice.
 
Despite the real estate market downturn, the square, which contains stucco-fronted period properties and whose residents have included former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, has continued to command high sales prices.
 
The group said the majority of homes changing hands there sold for around £7 million, while in 2008 there were four mega-sales with properties selling for between £12.2 million and £19.7 million.
 
Ingram Avenue in Hampstead, London, was the street with the second most expensive properties, with the large detached homes there averaging £6.09 million, followed by Courtney Avenue in Highgate at £5.9 million.
 
Unsurprisingly, all of the top 20 most expensive streets on which to buy a home are in London, 12 of which are in Kensington and Chelsea and five of which are in Barnet.
 
The only street to make it into the top 20 for the first time this year was Queens Grove in St John’s Wood, a few minutes walk from the famous Abbey Road, which is ranked 15th overall, with average house prices of £4.8 million.
 
London saw the biggest price rise, with the average cost of home on its 10 most expensive streets jumping from £4.9 million in 2009 to £5.5 million now.  Meanwhile, Wales lagged behind at the bottom of the list, with an average value of just £676,320.
 
As with last year’s results, seven of the 10 regions have averages of over £1 million and most of the regions experienced value rises since last year although some saw modest falls. The regions which experienced small falls in value include the South West, the West Midlands, Yorkshire & the Humber and Wales.
 
‘Prices for the most expensive properties in the country have been fairly consistent with the middle tier of the property market,’ said Zipporah Morrison Baker, of Mouseprice.com.
 
The survey was based on Land Registry sale price statistics and updated with valuation data gathered from surveyors. Average values were narrowed down to postcode level using an automated system.