If the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are going to be your neighbours, you can be fairly sure you are buying in a desirable area.
And now Kensington Palace Gardens has once more cemented its air of exclusivity after being named the most expensive place to buy a home in Britain. The survey by property website Zoopla found that the average price of a home on the street is an eye-watering £35,696,711.
But the continuing rise of Britain’s Millionaire’s Rows means those without royalty as neighbours may also live near to some of Britain’s most expensive roads outside London, with Roundhay Park Lane, in Leeds, Broadway, in Altrincham, and Lovelace Avenue, in Solihull, claiming top spot in their individual regions.
Zoopla said there are now 14,417 streets in Britain where the average house price is at least £1million – some 1,999 more than in 2016.
This map shows the most expensive streets in Britain’s biggest counties by population size (all have a population of at least one million), excluding London
| Rank | Street Name | Area | Average Property Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kensington Palace Gardens | London | £35,696,711 |
| 2 | Grosvenor Crescent | London | £21,984,033 |
| 3 | The Boltons | London | £19,858,239 |
| 4 | Courtenay Avenue | London | £18,973,761 |
| 5 | Ilchester Place | London | £15,311,090 |
| 6 | Compton Avenue | London | £13,739,572 |
| 7 | Manresa Road | London | £12,587,961 |
| 8 | Cottesmore Gardens | London | £11,969,745 |
| 9 | Albemarle Street | London | £11,371,851 |
| 10 | Chester Square | London | £10,630,003 |
| Source: Zoopla | |||
Kensington Palace Gardens, in West London, is the most expensive street and overlooks Prince William and Kate’s home at Kensington Palace.
It is also home to some of the world’s richest people, including Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the current Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah.
All of the top 10 most expensive places to live are in London, including Grosvenor Crescent in Westminster, which is ranked in second place with an average price of £21,984,033.
The sweeping Regency street sits between Hyde Park Corner and Belgrave Square, with flats alone being sold for more than £10million.
Pictured: The top 10 most expensive streets in London, according to property website Zoopla
This 6-bed detached house in London’s Courtenay Avenue is on the market for £12million via estate agents Glentree
The top 10 also includes The Boltons, in Kensington and Chelsea, where homes typically cost £19,858,239 and Compton Avenue in North London’s pretty Hampstead, where average values are £13,739,572.
However, the average £35.7million price of a house in England’s most expensive street has dropped in price compared to last year, down £2,569,432.
This 7-bed house is in The Boltons in London’s Chelsea and is for sale for £49.5million via estate agents Aylesford
The £49.5million Boltons home comes with with a massive bedroom suite that includes a generous seating area
The fall is indicative of the trend affecting values at the upper end of the housing market in London, where stamp duty tax hikes and concerns about Brexit are taking their toll.
This is particularly true in London, where house prices tend to be higher. Nationwide revealed that average values in the capital have fallen for the first time in eight years.
It said prices for average for all types have dropped in London – by an albeit more modest 0.6 per cent to £471,761.
A 6-bed property in London’s Compton Avenue is being sold for £9,950,000 via estate agents Glentree, and it comes with an outside swimming pool
| Rank | Region | Number of streets with an average property value of £1 million+ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater London | 5,899 |
| 2 | South East England | 5,278 |
| 3 | East of England | 1,875 |
| 4 | South West England | 532 |
| 5 | North West England | 301 |
| 6 | West Midlands | 194 |
| 7 | Scotland | 109 |
| 8 | East Midlands | 96 |
| 9 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 77 |
| 10 | North East England | 45 |
| 11 | Wales | 11 |
| Source: zoopla |
Across the rest of the country – and outside of the capital – Zoopla also identified the most expensive streets in Britain’s largest counties.
Golf Club Road, in Weybridge, tops the list with average values of £5,937,835.
Temple Gardens in Hertfordshire’s Rickmansworth is second with values of £4,060,609, narrowly beating Phillippines Shaw in Tunbridge Wells in Kent where typical prices are £4,013,587.
A total of 94.2 per cent of streets with an average property price of £1million and above are located in the South of England.
By contrast, the North of England, Wales and Scotland have far fewer expensive streets, with Yorkshire and the Humber home to just 77, the North East of England with 45 and Wales having only 11.
This 7-bed detached house in London’s Compton Avenue is on the market for £5million via estate agents Glentree
Overall, 19 of the top 20 towns with the most £1million plus streets can all be found in the South of England, with Guildford taking the top spot with 204 of the most expensive streets, the Thames Valley town of Reading in second place with 187, followed by Leatherhead in Surrey with 176.
Zoopla’s Lawrence Hall said: ‘Despite London’s property market cooling over the past year, it’s no surprise that the capital’s most exclusive boroughs continue to dominate the list. This is partly thanks to some incredibly luxurious properties benefitting from unbeatable locations near the heart of the city.
‘While London will always prove attractive for those with deep pockets, Surrey’s Virginia Water and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire certainly provide better value when it comes to space. Heading north, homeowners will find they’re likely to get much more square footage for every £1million spent, especially in Scotland and in North East England.’