All about Belgravia
Belgravia has always been one of London’s most desirable places to live. It’s summarised perfectly on the Grosvenor Estate (the area’s biggest landlord) website – “it is a place of graceful Regency-style streets, smooth sweeping crescents and verdant garden squares, where cream-stucco mansions mingle with picturesque mews houses, and embassy buildings with independent, one-off shops and art galleries”. On top of that, it’s fantastically located and has great neighbours – Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. These are some of the many reasons why people from all over the world are drawn to the area.
The cream-stucco townhouses give a very pristine feel to Belgravia. The man responsible for this was called Thomas Cubitt, a British master builder who become known for developing the streets and squares in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. Perhaps the most prestigious address within Belgravia is Eaton Square – the largest garden square in London. In fact, it is built around 6 private gardens. Originally built as townhouses, many have now been converted into apartments. The two other Belgravia squares are also iconic addresses – Chesham Square and Belgrave Square. Garden squares in general have been very popular during the pandemic, with home buyers craving outside space. It’s not only the garden squares that are worth considering – there are some fantastic streets as well, ranging from Grosvenor Crescent, Eaton Place, Chesham Place, and West Halkin Street. Very good properties on these streets will have prices of around £3,000 per square foot.
Unlike prime locations close by such as Mayfair, there are only a handful of new developments in the area. As these are very rare, they tend to be super prime and attract ultra-high net worth buyers. An example of this would be the Chelsea Barracks, which is on the borders of Chelsea/Belgravia. Prices in this development range from £3,000 to £6,000 per square foot. Another example would be the private residences at the Peninsula Hotel. There are only 25 units which enjoy five-star services from the hotel. Prices have not been released to the public yet, but I would expect these to be north of £5,000 per square foot.
Looking ahead
Knight Frank are predicting values in prime central London to increase by 25% between 2021 and 2025, with a 7% growth in 2022. The firm has stated that “prices in prime central London have corrected by more than other UK marker over the last five years and this should support growth in the medium term”. Belgravia is particularly popular with foreign buyers who have been lacking over the last two years due to the pandemic. As the world continues to go back to normal and global travels continues to become easier, I expect this will bring back demand to the area.
Things to do
Shops, boutiques and restaurants have really improved in Belgravia over the last 15 years. The two best places for this are Motcomb Street and Elizabeth Street.
Motcomb Street is a local favourite for the residents of Belgravia. The street went through a transformation in 2017 that focused on giving it a distinct character and made it totally pedestrianised. There is a fantastic mix of independent shops and restaurants, ranging from Pantechnicon, a newly opened Nordic/Japanese restaurant and concept store, as well as The Fine Cheese Company which specialises in selling the finest artisanal cheese products. There is also a brilliant Waitrose for everyday supermarket needs
Elizabeth street is the other local favourite and known for being one of London’s most instagrammable streets, with buildings dating back to the 1860s. It’s known for having signature restaurants and eateries. Ever since floral facades became a trend in London, Elizabeth Street has been at the forefront of the trend, making it a unique street that attracts people from all over London.
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