Waterside property: 'One of London's best secrets'

You don't have to head out of the capital to enjoy the tranquility of waterside property.
By Ginetta Vedrickas
Published: 31 May 2006

With summer around the corner, many Londoners will indulge themselves with an annual fantasy; living by the coast. The city seems particularly stifling in warmer months but, as London's rivers and canals undergo huge regeneration, a scenic waterside location is within easy reach.

The Thames' success story is legendary but less talked about are London's many canals. Winkworth's Islington Property branch is selling a stunning mews house on Regent's Canal at Union Wharf, N1. Set within a private gated mews development, the house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage/gym, large conservatory plus a roof terrace with views over Regent's Canal and beyond. Priced at £850,000, agent Matt Chapple believes that the location will clinch a sale: "Demand for canal side property has never been higher. You only have to look at the regeneration and new development springing up throughout the city to see that it's now very desirable."

Three years ago the same property sold for £625,000, showing a healthy appreciation, but Chapple finds that buyers of waterside homes are less concerned with investment than with quality of life: "People in the city want space, peace and quiet and, importantly, the knowledge that no development is going to spring up directly in front of them. Buying canal side is one way of guaranteeing that." Properties such as this one also give buyers new access routes into the city, says Chapple who sees many joggers and cyclists regularly using its towpaths.

Much is heard about the eastern stretch of river, especially Docklands, but the western stretches are also attracting those looking for waterside homes.

Based mainly in Bermuda, Sally Ann Smith regularly travels to London and has just bought a pied à terre at the Pumphouse, a development of converted and new build homes from St James on the site of a Victorian pumping station in Hammersmith. Smith loves the design of her two bedroomed apartment but, having lived on an island, her new apartment's riverside location was crucial. "Living by water is very important to me," she says.

This stretch of river, between Chiswick and Hammersmith, is regarded as being particularly attractive and owners have private gated access to the Thames path through the gardens. The final homes, including seven penthouses, will be released this summer with prices starting from £245,000 for studios and £395,000 for two-bedroom apartments.

But bagging yourself a waterside home doesn't have to mean buying new build. Further west in Hanwell W7, agents Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward are selling Lock Cottage, which overlooks the Grand Union Canal and the River Brent. This two-bedroomed Grade II listed cottage has ishing rights and its own jetty. Priced at £525,000, the detached house is entered from the canal path and has many period features including cast iron fireplaces but also has a heated outdoor swimming pool, sauna and a kissing bench overlooking the canal.

Many other lesser-known rivers are becoming attractive for buyers wanting waterside locations. Management consultant Chris Pailthorpe, 56, bought a seventh floor apartment at the Iron Works, overlooking the River Lea, near its junction with Limehouse Cut.

"I was attracted to the space, light, water and wildlife," says Pailthorpe, whose 1,000sq ft apartment has an extensive living area with spectacular cantilevered glass wall. A balcony maximises the waterside views but Pailthorpe also enjoys the river's external benefits where he regularly walks: "Along the River Lea, Lea Navigation, Limehouse Cut and Limehouse Basin, it's like a refuge of tranquility and one of London's best secrets."

Tranquility and views may be driving the market but investment is key to some buyers' decisions. Agents Hurford Salvi Carr, based in central London Estate Agent and Docklands, has carried out research showing a hierarchy in Docklands waterside locations and showing that riverside is invariably more expensive than canal side. The firm also found that property values are in direct proportion to the width of the body of water that they overlook, with a Thames-side two-bedroom apartment in Docklands typically fetching up to £500,000 more than an equivalent property overlooking a canal.

Land director Jonathon Woodfield explains the draw: "In this part of London it's a big working river as opposed to somewhere like Twickenham. Here the tidal variations make it more interesting, as do all the big boats which pass through. Sitting right on the river or overlooking the big basins the views really are fantastic and it makes a big difference to buyers."

Hurford Salvi Carr is currently selling new development Shepherdess Walk N1, which fronts the Grand Union Canal. This contemporary scheme by developer Mount Anvil is due for completion in early 2009. Twenty-eight apartments, comprising a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes from 430sq ft to 915sq ft, are priced from £260,000 to £475,000. Hurford Salvi Carr is also selling Tequila Wharf, a contemporary scheme by Telford Homes, where many of the one- and two-bedroom apartments have west-facing views along the Regent's Canal or, from the higher levels, south-east to Canary Wharf, Wapping Property. One-bedroom apartments start from £225,000 and two-bedrooms from £285,000.

Many new riverside developments continue to come on line but the future market may be restricted to resales as riverside locations become increasingly scarce. St James Homes' Robin Rixon says: "There's a lot still going on in areas around Greenwich but in west London there are few sites left as developers have realised the river's potential." Rixon believes that St James's flagship riverside development Grosvenor Waterside stands apart from most. The mixed-use scheme will transform the historic Grosvenor Dock and is the only Dockside scheme in Zone 1. A series of stylish glass fronted apartment buildings rising from four to 11 storeys have been created around the dock basins, with prices starting at £395,000 for one bedrooms up to £2.25m for the penthouse. Some apartments have dock views only while others have river and dock.

River views are always higher on buyers' wish lists, says Rixon, "particularly as this is an incredibly attractive stretch:you have views of Chelsea Bridge and look east to the iconic Battersea Power station.". London Property Directory

House price inflation picks up

LONDON (Reuters) - House price inflation in England and Wales picked up to an annual 12.8 percent in early August from 10.3 percent in early July, property website Rightmove said on Monday.
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The figures suggest Britain's property market remains resilient in the face of five interest rates rises over the past year.

Rightmove said figures not adjusted for seasonal factors showed asking prices for property rose 0.6 percent on the month, double that seen in July. That took the average asking price to 241,474 pounds.

The monthly increase, however, was smaller than rises seen at the start of the year and Rightmove said it expected house price inflation to slow in the coming months.

The survey also showed asking Property prices in London fell on the month for the first time in a year.

LONDON AGENT WARNS LANDLORDS OF LIMITATIONS OF ASSURED SHORTHOLD TENANCIES

Landlords should be aware of the limits of Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) as it is no longer applicable for many residential properties in London warns London estate agent Hurford Salvi Carr in its recently published half-yearly review. With entry level prices to the London residential property market continuing to increase and residential rents for many one and two bedroom rental properties Clerkenwell following the upward trend, many tenancy renewals are now exceeding the legal threshold.

AST agreements were introduced through the Housing Act 1988 to protect the interests of all landlords and tenants in the private rented sector and have been the backbone of the rental market. However, as AST only covers properties with an annual rental income of up to £25,000, an increasing number of properties across the capital no longer qualify under this legislation.

Hurford Salvi Carr Lettings Manager Kari Trajer believes this could have consequences for both Landlords and Tenants alike. “Since 1997, the vast majority of new tenancies let to individuals have been let on ASTs. This is creating a misnomer for Landlords based on the assumption that the ASTs are regarded as appropriate for all rental agreements without realising that their rental value exceeds the £481- per week (£25,000 per year) legal ceiling of the AST.“This crucially means the theoretical ‘fast track’ legal ability to recover possession for rent arrears no longer applies and can lead to serious delays if any rent arrear disputes arise with the tenants. “

The increased use of sealed bids for rented properties, which were reported by Hurford Salvi Carr earlier this year, has been just one result of the housing shortage and a contributing factor to the rising prices now exceeding the legal ceiling of AST.

In its recently published half yearly report, Hurford Salvi Carr outlines how the average weekly rental value for a two bedroom property has risen above £480- per week across the West End, City and Docklands property.

Hurford Salvi Carr Lettings Manager Kari Trajer continues: “At the present time, the Government is not scheduling amends to increase the legal ceiling of the AST, so Hurford Salvi Carr recommends Landlords and Tenants to be aware when letting or extending an existing tenancy of residential property particularly in the high value London market and the impact this will have on possible possession.

“I believe the legal ceiling of the AST will have to be raised sooner rather than later in order to protect Landlords and reduce the number of delays to secure vacant possession for rent arrears. Until then however, it is crucial that landlords understand the implications of Tenancy Agreements and make sure that the correct form of Tenant agreement is used by their agent.”

Property price fears fuel growth in rentals

Demand for rental accommodation is outstripping supply at the fastest rate for six years as fears grow that further increases in interest rates may trigger a property price crash.

Letting agents say rental demand has exceeded all expectations this summer and the trend is widely expected to continue for the next year.

The Association for Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) says the level at which demand from tenants is outstripping supply from landlords is at its highest since they began conducting surveys about six years ago.

“Everyone has their own theories as to why this is,” said ARLA spokesman Malcolm Harrison. “Part of the reason is down to simple demographics because there are more single people looking for housing. But it is probably also to do with a fear of house prices softening.”

The UK housing market has remained buoyant despite a series of interest rate rises from the Bank of England but the number of properties available to rent has been reduced as buy-to-let investors reallocate assets away from property.

“Landlords are leaving the market and investing elsewhere because they feel it’s a good time to make the most of their capital,” said Tim Hyatt, head of UK lettings at Knight Frank estate agents.

“We have seen a 15 per cent reduction in instructions this year and this is indicative that people are feeling uncertain about where the house sales market is going.”

Fears of a slowdown or potential housing market crash have led more people to eschew purchasing a property in favour of renting.

Across the country letting agents say they have seen a huge rise in rental agreements this year with central London witnessing the greatest growth of activity.

Summer is traditionally a busy time for letting agents as graduates, relocated professionals and families moving to prime school catchment areas, vie for rental accommodation.