Studio asking prices down a lot - WC1 UPDATED 23rd NOV

neverdespairgirl

Following lots of reductions last week by Banbury Ball, Barnard Marcus seem to have got in touch with their studio sellers and convinced them to reduce prices.

1. Went on the market end of Oct for £230k, dropped yesterday to £215k

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-11280105.rsp?pa_n=23&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true

2. Up for sale end of Oct, £225k, down yesterday to £210k

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-23632379.rsp?pa_n=24&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true

3. First on, mid-Oct, for £205k, now £190k

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19841938.rsp?pa_n=24&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true

GDB2222

WC1 is one of the areas where I would expect that studio prices would hold up reasonably well, or at least better than in other parts of the country. This is because there must be people who live well away from London and can't/don't want to commute. For them the choice may be owning a studio flat or renting a hotel room for say 200 nights a year at £100 a night. A person in that position is just looking for a place to stay at night, and a studio does the job nicely.

As mentioned before, people looking for a full-time home are more likely to skip past studios when prices come down and buy a one or two bed flat.

GDB2222

Oh, just as an example, my son is a computer programmer living in Aberystwyth and 'tele-commuting'. When he had to come to London for a week at a time, his firm used to pay well over £100 a night for his hotel room. A studio company flat, preferably serviced, would make a significant saving for them.

neverdespairgirl

But you could rent one for £200 a week, instead of buying one for £200k and paying a couple of grand a year in service charges.

GDB2222

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

But you could rent one for £200 a week, instead of buying one for £200k and paying a couple of grand a year in service charges.

As cheap as that to rent? That's not bad at all (for the renter). So, the gross rental yield on these is 5% currently, which must translate into only about 2-3% after expenses, voids etc. Clearly, not a BTL proposition, then.

lostinrates

GDB2222 wrote: »

Oh, just as an example, my son is a computer programmer living in Aberystwyth and 'tele-commuting'. When he had to come to London for a week at a time, his firm used to pay well over £100 a night for his hotel room. A studio company flat, preferably serviced, would make a significant saving for them.

DH's firm does this in most cities worldwide thy operate from, and balance a certain number of retained 'residences', accss to further corporate lets and hotl accomodation. For example, if we go to Paris for six months next year DH will be in a studio kept by th office permanantly. In London they use by far mainly hotels, I'm not sure they have even one retained residence here. The balance of the decision is not just on straightfoward outgoings but on fiscal benfits or penalties in different countries, tbh I don't know what that is in UK, both to the employee and the business in owning/long leasing property or receiving free accomodation (paymnt in kind/mployee benefit).

neverdespairgirl

This chap is advertising a "portfolio" of studio flats in the same block, Russell Court, Woburn place, on gumtree.

I have 5 Studio apartments for sale in Russell Court, WC1.

2 of these units are fully and newly refurbished. The other 3 are unmodernised and need a full refurb and modernisation.

Prices are from £199,995 to £229,950. I am open to offers and happy to do viewings at any time 7 days a week.

I am a private individual with a portfolio for sale, not an estate agent.

These aparments are very rare and will go quickly.

http://www.gumtree.com/london/49/30118549.html

Pretty misleading advert, I reckon. There are 31 studios in this block for sale on RM, not exactly my definition of "rare". And his pricing looks very optimistic as well.

Of those 31 studios, the following price ranges apply:

£240k+ - 5

£230k to £239k - 4

£220k to £239k - 10

£210k to £219k - 6

£200k to £209k - 1

£190k to £199k - 5

And they aren't selling at those prices, many have been on for months. Go quickly? Rare? Yeah, right....

amcluesent

>There are 31 studios in this block for sale on RM<

Just have many studios (cells?) are there in that block? You'd go mad in one of those rooms - must be for metrosexuals who are out every night snorting coke.

beingjdc

amcluesent wrote: »

>There are 31 studios in this block for sale on RM<

Just have many studios (cells?) are there in that block? You'd go mad in one of those rooms - must be for metrosexuals who are out every night snorting coke.

I think they're for businessmen to sleep in Monday to Thursday before they go back to their family home in Norfolk on Friday night.

baby_boomer

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

http://www.gumtree.com/london/49/30118549.html

Pretty misleading advert, I reckon.

Agreed.

Given that he's up a gum tree, it's a very appropriate site on which to advertise his wares :rotfl: