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伦敦肯辛顿地产

(2013-11-19 02:02:44) 下一个

 Lisa Freedman, Financial Times 编译:FT中文网实习生 陈亦珈

     

皇家街区的优势

    “空气清新的好地方,不只存于伦敦上空的三尺天堂,还有肯辛顿,这个谈笑有鸿儒的街区。”英国地志作家John Bowack于1705年在肯辛顿记录道。   
      

     300多年后的今天,一切依旧如此。威廉王子与凯特王妃,计划于明年入住肯辛顿宫,更是有力地证明了这一说法。相比之下,骑士桥的繁华炫目,诺丁山的层次分明,在拥有高教育水准的W8区面前,只是小巫见大巫。 
       作 为王位的二号继承人,威廉王子将拥有这处房产,是理所当然的事情,因为这里住的大多是30出头、在家庭中颇有地位的人。国际地产公司Finchatton 的联合创始人Andrew Dunn,与他的妻子和两个年幼的孩子最近也搬到了肯辛顿。“住在切尔西也不错,但是这里的房子视野更开阔,配套设施也更齐全,尤其这里有顶尖的学校、公 园、独立的食物供应商和时尚的女装店,五脏俱全,且足够休闲。因此,王子夫妇选择住在这儿并不令人感到惊讶,至少在这儿他们可以像普通人一样出行。”  

威廉王子的童年就是在肯辛顿宫度过的,维多利亚女王亦是如此,这也是该区拥有皇家地位的原因。对于城市家庭生活来说,肯辛顿的地理位置再理想不过了。训练有 素的保姆和衣冠楚楚的孩子在选择出游的地点时,大多会去肯辛顿花园的中心湖上泛舟,或者是参观彼得•潘的雕像。如今,戴安娜王妃纪念堂前的空地上建造了一 艘1:1尺寸的木制海盗船,孩子们也时常去船上扮演《彼得•潘》里的Hook船长。

肯辛顿的教育水平也属伦敦一流。威廉王子和哈利王子的母校就是诺丁山门的Wetherby预备学校,Pembridge Hall女子学校的女生们,也时常会到Perk’s Field的空地上玩耍,也就是肯辛顿宫的直升飞机停机坪。同时,这里的公立学校也非常优秀,譬如St Mary Abbots小学,现任首相戴维•卡梅伦、教育部长Michael Gove都将孩子送去这所学校就读。另一所花费8000万英镑重建的Holland Park School,经常被人们称为“伊顿公学的预备学校”。

 谁在购买肯辛顿?

1689年,威廉三世和玛丽皇后最早在这里置产,并邀请巴洛克风格的建筑师Christopher Wren爵士对诺丁汉宫进行改建,也就是如今的肯辛顿宫。到了19世纪中期,这个原本半乡村的市郊街区,已变为城市中高级资产阶级梦寐以求的住所。

维多利亚女王曾将自己的大半资产,花费在购买肯辛顿宫周围的豪宅上。而肯辛顿宫花园里的房产,向来是当地市场中的翘楚,历史将之称为“百万富翁的必争之地”,当然如今的百万富翁已被亿万富翁所替代,花园中的绿荫大道也已成为世界上最贵的住宅区道路之一。

这 里的大片别墅,在20世纪均为大使馆,如今都已成为家庭式豪宅。去年,切尔西俱乐部老板Roman Abramovich向比利时对冲基金共同创始人Pierre Lagrange支付了9000万英镑,入手一处包括15个卧室的住宅,后者在2004年买入时仅花费1900万英镑。这些历史可以追溯到1843年的灰 泥房子,连带着一条长车道和一座封闭式大花园,如今正计划进行内部装潢。虽然街道上几乎所有住宅均为出租屋,租金交由英国皇家财产局管理,但是 Abramovich花费巨资购买的豪宅仍拥有潜在优势,譬如街道两头会有武装警察站岗,以及他将被邀请参加肯辛顿宫一年一度的花园派对。

    这个高级住宅区里的邻居,包括高铁巨头Lakshmi Mital,俄裔美籍石油寡头Leonard Blavatnik等,但你不会在代理商的橱窗上,发现任何有关这里地产的信息。“这里的房子从来不会出现在公开市场上,”肯辛顿Banda地产的总经理 Edo Mapelli Mozzi说道。“我也只见过其中少数房产。”由于家庭式豪宅供给短缺,这个市场充斥着中等房产。

在 战前紧缩的那些年,肯辛顿是英国中上层阶级的根据地,住满了金融界人士。那个时候,地产的价格仍然比较合理、亲民。“我1977年第一次在肯辛顿买房时, 仅花费3万英镑,那时我是军队中的上尉。”Young说,“它几乎花去了我工资的5倍。现在我的儿子也是军队里的一名上尉,但是他一定买不起这样的房子, 现在这房子已经升值到180万英镑了。”


从19世纪80年代开始,肯辛顿的居民从英国绅士逐步变为全球富豪,一波接一波来自世界各地的热钱,开始流向这片治安好、空气好且生活便捷的街道。

“如 今的海外买家远多于从前,申请者来自40多个国家,”Knight Frank地产驻肯辛顿的合伙人Tom Tagney说道。当然,欧洲人,尤其是法国人和意大利人,还有俄罗斯人仍然占领着这个房产市场。他们寻求的房子,既要有宽敞的内部空间,还要有一个足够 大的花园。Phillimore住宅区的几处房产就符合这样的要求,譬如阿盖尔路上那幢五间卧室的别墅,售价925万英镑,还有Savills地产代理的 一处六间卧室的房产,位于高街以南的Cottesmore花园中,售价1675万英镑。

贵族级豪宅的标准

许多宽敞的大房子,都曾被改造为多间公寓,或是被用作高档出租屋。然而近年来,由于豪宅的需求急剧膨胀,公寓又被改回独幢别墅。Young有幸见证了这一趋势:“相比两三间公寓,独幢豪宅配上花园,通常能够将售价抬高百分之三十到四十。”


不 过,也不是所有房产都能达到贵族级别,起点至少要达到Hillgate Village中那幢油画风乡村别墅的标准,它位于诺丁山门西面的街道上,售价约为200万英镑。Marsh & Parsons地产代理的一幢售价215万英镑的别墅也能够达标,它曾是海军的房产,美得好像是油画中的景色。

上 世纪之交时,肯辛顿就以家庭式公寓闻名,那些砖结构房屋里拥有挑高的天花板和宽敞的空间,均保留着爱德华时代的富丽堂皇,戴安娜王妃就是在这样的公寓中度 过了她的童年。这些旧式建筑,对如今的人们仍然具有强烈的吸引力,只是投资需求更甚于住宅需求。譬如John D Wood地产售卖的一套249.9万英镑的公寓,位于Iverna花园中,拥有四间卧室;还有Knight Frank地产售卖的135万英镑的公寓,位于Falkland 城堡中,拥有两间卧室。

 

“最 吸引人之处,莫过于这里的治安和停车场,”Savills地产肯辛顿分部负责公寓业务的总经理Thomas Holcroft说道。“国际买家们渴望找到一个安置资产的天堂,他们很乐意为储藏空间支付一点保管金。”这个市场最高端的房产要数Bedfords公爵 夫人城花园中的这套了。由Knight Frank地产代理的这套复式房产,其西厢和北厢是全装修的舞厅式房间,售价3000万英镑,拥有5间卧室。

生活在肯辛顿

这块区域也见证了房产价格的飙升。高街尽头的肯辛顿宫是由David Chipperfield爵士为Lancer资产管理公司设计的,共拥有97间豪华公寓。正在改造的德维尔花园将于2014年完工,工程包括修建地下停车 库、水疗馆和一些娱乐设施,届时它将成为骑士桥地产中最为时尚的一处。

      循街而下,正是万众瞩目的设计博物馆,它位于重建的英联邦研究所内。这幢现代主义的代表性建筑,由普利兹克建筑奖获得者Rem Koolhaas设计,包含62间新式公寓,将于2014年建成。Chelfield Partners/Ilchester住宅区中的“抛物线屋”,拥有两间卧室,起价200万英镑,将提供全职个人助理的服务。“人们总想要个门房,但是, 一个能够接送孩子上学的助理,远比一个只会订餐厅的人有用。”Ed Lewis说道,他是Savills地产伦敦分部住宅部总经理,负责公寓销售。

家庭住宅市场的巨大需求,早已在肯辛顿最精明的地产大亨之一Jon Hunt的预料之中。1980年代,他意识到买家们喜欢在傍晚和周末去看房产,并因此创立了Foxtons地产以满足这样的需求。如今,他又意识到一个新 趋势:无论家里的豪宅有多大,在家工作并非每个人的爱好。2011年,他在肯辛顿高街开办了“旱地商务成员俱乐部”,为成员们提供私人的工作空间以及五星 级宾馆的舒适服务。“人们再也不用去办公室了,”Hunt说,“去俱乐部是为了社交,因为人们更喜欢与其他人接触。”

在 肯辛顿,人们就是这样生活的。“他们会去梅菲尔和骑士桥置产,” Andrew Dunn说,“但是,他们只会住在肯辛顿。”佐证之一,就是街道上举办的各种欢乐派对。“我们的街道并不太长,”Bedford花园的一位居民评价道, “但是我们能售出170张入场券。参加派对的人中,百分之六十是英国人,其他来自世界各地。从这点来看,肯辛顿就像伦敦其他地方一样,是一个真正的‘联合 国’。”

 
 (本文根据FT旗下奢侈品杂志《如何消费》(How To Spend It)2012年9月刊文章 “Best Addressed”编译。更多文章,请登陆 www.howtospendit.com)
 
 Best addressed

With a royal-borough designation, top state and private schools, period residences and new developments on the way, Kensington is the place to live – not just buy – in London

September 26 2012

Lisa Freedman

This Town standing in a wholesome Air, not above Three Miles from London, has ever been resorted to by Persons of Quality,” wrote John Bowack of Kensington, in 1705. Little has changed, and the decision of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to base their London life in Kensington Palace will only underline the fact. Knightsbridge may have more glitz and Notting Hill more edge, but nothing beats W8 for the child-rearing years.

“It’s a very civilised place to live,” says Peter Young, managing director of John D Wood & Co, who has been selling family homes in the royal borough for more than 30 years.

The royal newlyweds are currently occupying a two-bedroom cottage in the grounds of KP (as it’s known to locals), but next year they are scheduled to transfer to Apartment 1A, formerly the home of Princess Margaret. This four-storey, 20-room residence is presently arranged as four bedrooms, four reception rooms, a nursery, staff quarters and a walled garden.

Aside from being second in line to the throne, Prince William is reasonably typical of local homeowners, who are often in their early-to-mid 30s and on the foothills of family life. A good example is Andrew Dunn, co-founder of international property design and development company Finchatton, who has recently made the move to Kensington with his wife and two young children. “I’d always lived in Chelsea, but the houses here are a good metre wider and the area has everything going for it. Great schools and parks, independent food suppliers and interesting boutiques. It’s sophisticated but relaxed – more stealth wealth than flashy. That’s no doubt why the royal couple like it. Here they can walk about unremarked.”

Prince William spent his own early childhood in Kensington Palace, as did Queen Victoria, who expressly willed that the borough be granted “royal” status. The location could not be more ideal for urban family life. Generations of well-trained nannies and well-brushed children have taken the air on their daily outings to sail boats on Kensington Garden’s Round Pond, or visit Peter Pan’s statue. Nowadays, they can also act out their Captain Hook fantasies on the full-scale wooden pirate ship in the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground.

The educational establishments, too, are among London’s finest. William and Harry’s own school run took them up Kensington Palace Gardens to Wetherby Prep in Notting Hill Gate – and traffic the other way ferries girls from Pembridge Hall to games at Perk’s Field (also a helicopter pad for the palace). But the area’s state schools are equally notable. Parents at St Mary Abbots Primary, just off the High Street, include the prime minister, David Cameron, and education secretary Michael Gove; while Holland Park School, in the throes of an £80m rebuild, is generally referred to as the “Eton of comprehensives”.

William and Mary became the first members of the royal family to buy a home in this salubrious district, when, in 1689, they purchased Nottingham House (now Kensington Palace) and hired Sir Christopher Wren to do the makeover. But it was the mid-19th century that witnessed the transformation of this semi-rural suburb into a desirable location for the urban haute bourgeoisie.

Queen Victoria’s wealthiest subjects splashed out on deluxe housing abutting the palace, and Kensington Palace Gardens remains the pinnacle of the local market. Historically referred to as “millionaire’s row”, the “M” has, of course, now been replaced by a “B”, and the tree-lined avenue is one of the most expensive residential roads in the world.

The vast villas here, which in the 20th century were generally used as embassies, have once again been converted into family mansions. Last year, Roman Abramovich paid Pierre Lagrange £90m for the 15-bedroom house the Belgian hedge-fund manager had bought in 2004 for just £19m. The listed stucco building, dating from 1843, comes with a long driveway and a large walled garden, as well as planning permission to improve the interior. Though all the property in the road is leasehold (with leases granted by the Crown Estate), the Abramovich cash purchase brought with it further advantages, including armed police checkpoints at either end of the street and an invite to the annual garden party at Kensington Palace.

Those wishing to join this exclusive residents’ association (neighbours include steel magnate Lakshmi Mital and Russian-American oil oligarch Leonard Blavatnik) will not find details in estate agents’ windows. “Houses here never come onto the open market,” says Edo Mapelli Mozzi, managing director of Kensington-based search agents Banda Property. “I’ve only ever been asked to view a handful.” But, if the family mansion is in short supply, the family home on a (relatively) more modest scale is what the area is all about. In the postwar austerity years, Kensington was a stronghold of the English upper-middle classes – families with debutante daughters and stockbroker sons. “When I first started work,” says antique dealer Julia Pruskin, long-term owner of the Pruskin Gallery in Kensington Church Street, “they used to sell chandeliers wearing white gloves.”

At the time, property prices were reasonably accessible. “I was a captain in the army when I bought my first Kensington house in 1977 for £30,000,” says Young. “It cost about five times my pay. My son is also a captain in the army, but he certainly couldn’t afford the same house, which is now worth about £1.8m.”

From the 1980s, Kensington’s demographic shifted from English gentility to global wealth, as wave after wave of discreet international finance colonised its safe, green and convenient streets.

“Today, we have more overseas buyers than ever before, with applicants from over 40 countries,” says Tom Tagney, partner in Knight Frank’s Kensington office. Of these, Europeans (particularly French and Italians) and Russians still dominate in the quest for the perfect family residence. What they’re looking for is substantial interior square footage accompanied by an ample garden; those on the Phillimore Estate (such as the five-bedroom house Savills is marketing in Argyll Road, for £9.25m) and in the elegant streets south of the High Street, where Savills is selling a six-bedroom property in Cottesmore Gardens for £16.75m, are typically desirable examples of the genre.

Many of these larger properties had previously been converted into flats or used as genteel rooming houses, but the demand for such homes has become so great, that Young has seen (and aided) a dramatic reversal of the trend. “Provided a house has a decent garden, you can increase the value by 30 or 40 per cent by converting two or three flats into a single dwelling.”

Not all the homes are on this noble scale, however. The entry point for a pretty pastel cottage in “Hillgate Village”, the medley of streets just south of Notting Hill Gate, is about £2m. Here, Marsh & Parsons are selling a picturesque three/four-bedroom house (once the home of navvies who helped build the area), for £2.15m.

Kensington has, since the turn of the last century, also been renowned for family-scale flats, in its wealth of Edwardian brick mansion blocks, with high ceilings and generous lateral expanses. (The type of flat in which the late Princess Diana spent her youth). These solid, portered buildings, such as Iverna Gardens (where John D Wood is selling a four-bedroom flat for £2.499m) and Falkland House (where Knight Frank has a two-bedroom flat for £1.35m), still provide an attractive base for families, but recent developments have catered as much for the investor as the resident.

“What’s really performing well are gated communities with parking,” says Thomas Holcroft, director in charge of flats at Savills, Kensington. “International buyers want a safe haven for their money and are happy to pay a premium for security and large, lateral spaces.” At the top of this market are the ballroom-like dimensions of Westcity and Northacre’s fully serviced renovation of Academy Gardens in Duchess of Bedfords Walk (where Knight Frank is marketing a five-bedroom duplex for £30m).

The area, too, is witnessing something of a building boom. The Palace end of the High Street will soon enjoy a lavish 97-flat development designed by Sir David Chipperfield for Lancer Asset Management. De Vere Gardens is intended to rival the super-prime offering available in Knightsbridge and the properties, scheduled for completion in 2014, will be accompanied by underground parking, a spa and entertainment facilities.

Just down the road, the hotly anticipated arrival, in 2014, of the Design Museum in the reborn Commonwealth Institute – itself an iconic monument of mid-century modernism – will be accompanied by 62 new flats by Pritzker Prize-winner Rem Koolhaas. Two-bedroom apartments in the Chelsfield Partners/Ilchester Estate development, The Parabola, will start from about £2m and include, at least initially, a complimentary PA service. “People always talk about a concierge,” says Ed Lewis, director of residential development sales at Savills, London, who will be selling the flats. “But you’re much more likely to need someone to walk your children to school than to book you a restaurant.”

The practical requirements of family living have also been addressed by one of Kensington’s canniest property moguls, Jon Hunt. In the 1980s, he recognised that house buyers wanted to look at property in the evenings and at weekends and founded Foxtons to satisfy this demand. Now he’s noticed that, however generous your living quarters, working at home is not everyone’s cup of tea. In 2011, he opened the Dryland Business Members Club in Kensington High Street, to provide a new style of serviced office with the atmosphere of a private members club and the hospitality of a five-star hotel. “People don’t need to go to the office,” says Hunt. “You go there to socialise. Humans prefer being with other humans.”

In Kensington, they certainly do. “People may buy in Mayfair and Knightsbridge,” says Andrew Dunn, “but they live in Kensington.” And street parties to celebrate the jubilee were ample proof of that. “Our street isn’t particularly long,” said one resident of Bedford Gardens, “but we sold over 170 tickets. About 60 per cent of those who came were English; the rest were from all over the world. In this regard, Kensington is just like the rest of London – a truly cosmopolitan mix.”

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