London Lite Wednesday, 5 December 2007 17 Home pages Why people are moving BACK into town 12 page property pullout ● PITY those City boys: the Centre for Economics and Business Research predicts the January bonuses will be down 20 per cent on last year. City bonuses have pushed up London prices in recent years, in the country and abroad too, as bankers’ spare cash goes on Cotswold cottages or Alpine chalets. Bonus buyers have made up a huge part of the £1m-£5m market, but Savills predicts in 2008 bonus cash in the property market will drop by 60 per cent to £2billion. ● AS LONDON LITE reported last week, Marylebone has become London’s hottest address. The W1 area’s reputation is now further confirmed as trend- setting French fashion shop Paul & Joe opens an 863 sq ft store at 38 Marylebone High Street, with an annual rent of £66,000. Top- end boutique Matches will soon be opening a 3,400 sq ft store on the street too, paying £100,000 a year in rent. ● DAVID PEARL is a London-based property magnate, with 1,300 properties in the capital and across the UK. In tonight’s The Secret Millionaire (Channel 4, 9pm), he goes undercover as a volunteer at the Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth, helping staff feed the patients and changing beds, and living on the state pension for a week. Watch to see his riches-to-rags experience. ● LIAM GALLAGHER and ex-All Saint Nicole Appleton married in a secret ceremony last month, and now it seems they’re after a new love nest. They currently live in a small property in Hampstead with six-year-old son Gene, but they’ve been spotted looking for larger four-bedroom houses in Hampstead village for about £2.5m. Market moves ... No commute? It needn’t be a dream BY JESSIE HEWITSON E VER wondered where your cash goes? If you take the Tube to work, it is likely a significant portion of your pay packet goes on travel: London is the most expensive trans- port capital in the world. Our average monthly Tube fare is £89.10. A weekly overground rail ticket from Ashford, Kent, to London will be £86.50 from January, Continued on Page 18 more than £4,000 a year. Add that to mortgage repayments instead and you could afford property worth £80,000 more. So, if you had a £220,000 two-bed house in Ashford and worked in the West End, you could move to Euston and
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London Lite Wednesday, 5 December 2007 17
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HomepagesWhy people are moving BACK into town
12pagepropertypullout
●PITY those City boys: the Centrefor Economics and BusinessResearch predicts the Januarybonuses will be down 20 per centon last year. City bonuses havepushed up London prices in recentyears, in the country and abroadtoo, as bankers’ spare cash goeson Cotswold cottages or Alpinechalets. Bonus buyers have made up a huge part of the £1m-£5m market, but Savillspredicts in 2008 bonus cash inthe property market will drop by60 per cent to £2billion.●AS LONDON LITE reported lastweek, Marylebone has becomeLondon’s hottest address. TheW1 area’s reputation is nowfurther confirmed as trend-setting French fashion shop Paul& Joe opens an 863 sq ft store at38 Marylebone High Street, withan annual rent of £66,000. Top-end boutique Matches will soonbe opening a 3,400 sq ft storeon the street too, paying£100,000 a year in rent.●DAVID PEARL is a London-basedproperty magnate, with 1,300properties in the capital andacross the UK. In tonight’s TheSecret Millionaire (Channel 4,
9pm), he goes undercover as avolunteer at the Queen
Alexandra hospital inPortsmouth, helping stafffeed the patients andchanging beds, and livingon the state pension for aweek. Watch to see hisriches-to-rags experience.●LIAM GALLAGHER and
ex-All Saint NicoleAppleton married in asecret ceremony lastmonth, and now it seemsthey’re after a new love
nest. They currently live in asmall property inHampstead with six-year-oldson Gene, but they’ve beenspotted looking for largerfour-bedroom houses inHampstead village for about £2.5m.
Marketmoves ...
No commute?It needn’t be a dream
BY JESSIE HEWITSONEVER wondered where your cashgoes? If you take the Tube to work, itis likely a significant portion of yourpay packet goes on trave l : London is the most expensive trans-port capital in the world.
Our average monthly Tube fare is £89.10. Aweekly overground rail ticket from Ashford,Kent, to London will be £86.50 from January, Continued on Page 18 �
more than £4,000 a year. Add that to mortgagerepayments instead and you could affordproperty worth £80,000 more. So, if you had a£220,000 two-bed house in Ashford and workedin the West End, you could move to Euston and
Property&Interiors
Live centraland forgetthe Oyster
� Continued from Page 17
18 Wednesday, 5 December 2007 London Lite
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downsize to a one-bedroom flat for£300,000 and walk to work — for noextra monthly outlay.
It’s little wonder London estateagents are noticing more clientsmoving house to be closer to workand avoid those long journeys.
“I’ve seen a steady increase inpeople wanting to live close to wherethey work as London traffic getsworse,” says Ed Mead, of Douglas &Gordon estate agency.
“I’m the classic example: I’vemoved to within 50 yards of myoffice. It’s all about quality of life;it’s a trade-off well worth making.
“It’s expensive, but there aresavings on travel and congestioncharges, though from October nextyear resident discounts for the con-gestion zone will no longer apply.”
Zita West, 48, a fertility expert,used to live in Banbury, Oxfordshirebut now her home is on OxfordStreet, a 10-minute walk to her workin Harley Street.
“The commute from Banbury tookan hour-and-a-half. I’d be up at5.15am for the 6.07am train, whichcost £50 a day,” she says.
“It was pretty depressing, espe-cially in winter. My energy levelshave been much better since I don’thave to get up so early.”
Her lifestyle now couldn’t be moredifferent. “I love living in centralLondon. I walk everywhere, so I’mmuch fitter. I don’t use the Tube ortaxis, so I’ve saved myself thou-sands on transport costs.”
Mortgages and rental costs are, ofcourse, higher the more centrallyyou live in London, but that hasn’tput off Philip Jackson, 31, andpartner Peter Nichols, 29.
They moved four months ago fromClapham to a one-bedroom flat in St
Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, to benearer their jobs in Soho. They pay£1,500 a month on rent, and believeit’s worth every penny.
Peter, who runs PR and marketingfirm Beyond, says: “We both workedin Soho and we go out in the WestEnd, but we had to do this commutein and out of the centre.
“We thought, ‘This is ridiculous,we’re both earning a decent salary,we should move to central London’.
“The rent isn’t much more thanoutside central London, and we’vegot back an hour a day because
we’re not commuting. Also, we seeour friends a lot more around here.”
Jo Eccles, director of SourcingProperty, a property search agency(think Phil and Kirstie fromLocation, Location, Location) saysmore clients than ever want to livecloser to their work.
“Clients often have one criterionfor their search: an easy commute. Itused to be people wanted to live onthe Jubilee Line if they worked inCanary Wharf, for example, butrecently they want to be even closer,often in walking distance. One client
grew sick of London and moved tothe country, but then felt so miser-able being stuck out in the sticksand with her awful train and Tubejourney she decided to move back tocentral London to be closer to herwork and friends.
“Trains can cost a fortune, andhalf the time they’re late. Lots ofpeople are thinking, ‘Why spendloads of money when the serviceoften isn’t working?’ My clientsincreasingly prefer to have a lovelycentral flat and lifestyle rather thana hugely expensive season ticket.”
THIS time next year, you might bedoing Christmas shopping at thenew £1.6billion Westfield centrein White City. But it’s a raceagainst time to open the westLondon centre in time for the2008 festive season. The 46-acresite, just north of Shepherd’sBush, will house 256 shops, plusrestaurants, cinemas, bars and alibrary. Scheduled to open nextOctober, it’s now likely to befinished only in November due toa shortage of construction andproject managers in Londonamong other factors. Retailers, toinclude Marks & Spencer, Next,Waitrose and Debenhams, wouldusually refuse to open so close toChristmas, but the size of theproject, and the influence of giantAustralian retail owner Westfieldmeans they are willing to makean exception next November. Theproject is expected to bring 4,000new jobs to the area, plus 200affordable new homes as part ofthe wider development.
