Kingston home prices have increased owing to popular demand for riverside property and a taste of the charming royal borough lifestyle.
Local estate agents have reason to cheer this spring as Kingston’s housing market enjoys a revival due to increased demand for riverside properties.
Out of London’s top five boroughs with the highest house price index as of February 12, Kingston is ranked second with an average price of £666,922, according to Rightmove.com, the property website.
Jasper Colliver, Assistant Manager at Hamptons International said, “We have been very busy and have only been open 18 months and we are doing phenomenally well. We are busy selling properties every week. The market is very positive.”
The ancient market town of Kingston, offers families more than an abundance of green space and an appealing west Thames-side location.
Highly rated secondary level schools such as Tiffin school and Tiffin girls’ school receive outstanding Ofsted reports and rank highly in the percentage of pupils who obtain A*-C in English and Maths GCSEs.
Furthermore, crime rates are at their lowest point for the last three years, with a 9.4% decrease in the number of overall offences.
Charlene Williams, Branch Manager for Gascoigne Pees stated that they have sold 13 to 14 properties since the beginning of February.
Flats have also been selling very well, with rental yields increasing to 6 per cent, one percentage point above average, a rental yield, Ms Williams said, “that is very, very good and very attractive for investors.”
Rental yield is a comparison between the annual rent the landlord receives and the value of the property. Rental yield is calculated by dividing the net rental income by the mortgage value.
The rise in housing prices is mostly attributed to stock shortages due to continuously increasing demand, and according to a survey by Rightmove.com, Kingston was voted the nicest place to live in and around London.
February marks the beginning of a “spring moving season” when prices of homes appearing on the market rise as a result of high demand from cash-rich buyers, an indicator of buyer confidence in London’s property market.
London boroughs with the largest rise in new sellers’ asking prices are: Richmond, Kingston, and Wandsworth, areas that demonstrate the strength of buyer demand for riverside property along the Thames’ west-side.
St James, home and apartment developer, is building a new property in Kingston by the Thames. The Boatyard, is the first new development along the river in Kingston in seven years.
Paul Bennett, Sales and Marketing Director at St James said, “there has been a huge amount of interest in the development since its launch in July 2011; we have already sold 60 per cent of the apartments off-plan which shows the demand for new build properties in the area.”
