The luxury square that shows London’s mansions are not selling

{"text":[[{"start":7.15,"text":"Just a five-minute walk from Harrods in one direction and Hyde Park in the other, Montpelier Square is one of London’s most exclusive addresses. "}],[{"start":16.25,"text":"It comprises prime properties in the district of Knightsbridge: a series of Georgian mansions that sit around communal gardens accessible only to those with a key. "}],[{"start":27,"text":"So why are homes there taking so long to sell? "}],[{"start":30.1,"text":"Of the 47 properties on the square, seven are up for sale — either through public listings or, according to local agents, being offered privately. On average, those seven have been on the market for more than 15 months, with one property still unsold after more than two years. "}],[{"start":48,"text":"One house recently sold for more than 30 per cent below what it might have gone for a decade ago. Taking into account inflation, the price had more than halved. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":57.3,"text":"The travails of Montpelier Square are a microcosm of a slump that has affected high-end property across London. "}],[{"start":64.95,"text":"For decades, London has been one of the most attractive places in the world for foreign buyers to pour their wealth into bricks and mortar. Yet over the past year the city’s high-end properties have struggled. "}],[{"start":76.35000000000001,"text":"“It’s very unusual for Montpelier Square to have so many houses on the market and not selling. It’s a very different world,” said Nicolas Pejacsevich, co-founder of estate agency Nicolas Van Patrick. "}],[{"start":89.00000000000001,"text":"“When we opened our doors in 2014, Knightsbridge was top of the pile. It was the number one destination in prime central London. It sold for the highest pounds per square foot.” "}],[{"start":101.60000000000001,"text":"Number 42 Montpelier Square, a five-bedroom home, sold in January for more than £10mn, at just under £1,932 per sq ft. The process took 343 days from listing to exchange, according to LonRes, which tracks the prime London market. "}],[{"start":119.95000000000002,"text":"That same house would have probably fetched close to £3,000 per sq ft in 2014, Pejacsevich said. "}],[{"start":127.00000000000001,"text":"He is currently marketing a five-bedroom home for £4.75mn — about £1,600 per sq ft, saying: “It is priced to reflect where the market is now, rather than where it was.”"}],[{"start":140.45000000000002,"text":"Agents say the malaise stems from a confluence of factors that have slowed sales across prime central London, including tax changes and political and economic uncertainty. Foreign buyers are not showing up like they used to. "}],[{"start":153.3,"text":"In 2014, stamp duty, the tax paid on property purchases, was increased for the most expensive properties. Brexit and the end of the “non-dom” tax regime, which allowed some UK residents to avoid UK tax on their worldwide income, have also sapped international appetite. "}],[{"start":170.85000000000002,"text":"The most expensive homes can still sell at huge profits: The Holme, a mansion in Regent’s Park with a four-acre garden, is being bought by the son of an Emirati billionaire for £190mn, a third more than it sold for two years ago."}],[{"start":186.70000000000002,"text":"For prime central London broadly, average sale prices have fallen 12 per cent from a 2016 high of £1,247 per sq ft, according to estate agent Hamptons."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":198.50000000000003,"text":"Montpelier Square has been particularly hard hit because of changing aesthetic preferences among a younger generation of wealthy buyers, say estate agents. "}],[{"start":208.85000000000002,"text":"“Those who are coming are looking for more pied-à-terre type properties, which they will use but not live in,” said Roarie Scarisbrick, a partner at Property Vision."}],[{"start":217.65000000000003,"text":"“Less appealing to this audience are the terraces of generic, six-storey houses which look stunning, especially those around the garden squares, but whose impracticalities baffle international visitors” who prefer wide space, security and amenities, he added. "}],[{"start":231.85000000000002,"text":"Many of the houses on Montpelier Square will need major renovations, having been passed down in families for decades, similar to other properties in prime central London. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":242.75000000000003,"text":"Those selling properties on the square have included British citizens, overseas entities and Saudi royalty, land registry records state. One agent said the owners were English, other European, American, Chinese and Middle Eastern citizens. "}],[{"start":258,"text":"Alex Bourne, senior director at Sotheby’s International Realty, which is currently selling one property on the square, said: “A significant portion of the current listings on the market represent coveted, unmodernised stock coming to the market simultaneously. For decades, many of these grand Georgian town houses have been tightly held within multi-generational families”. "}],[{"start":281.3,"text":"At the same time, construction and labour costs have shot up, leading many buyers to prefer properties they can move into immediately."}],[{"start":288.15000000000003,"text":"Others will have concerns about the neighbourhood. "}],[{"start":291.35,"text":"“There are parts of Knightsbridge that are beautiful, but others that have not had the same redevelopment as some of the other estates nearby, with shops coming and going,” Pejacsevich said. "}],[{"start":300.95000000000005,"text":"That might be changing, with a tree-planting programme and a £75mn proposal to rejuvenate the area’s streetscapes. "}],[{"start":308.35,"text":"Homeowners are hoping buyers will be drawn to 30 per cent discounts for what are still trophy assets. Scarisbrick pointed to “an opportunity for buyers who are prepared to roll their sleeves up”. "}],[{"start":319.1,"text":"As of this week, however, the seven mansions remained untaken. "}],[{"start":330.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783749305_6276.mp3"}