Street Rankings 2007 National Report

When it comes to the ownership of exclusive property, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is undoubtedly the area to be. However, if one street outside of London is likely to successfully break into the Top Twenty in the foreseeable future, it will be Portnall Rise, Virginia Water, in the South East. Portnall Rise has secured a place at number 23 in the top 200 most expensive streets in England and Wales National Top 50 Most Expensive Streets.

Looking at the Mouseprice.com Regional Top 20 on the following page, we see London and the South East taking the top four spots in the rankings, with the most expensive streets in these southern regions averaging two or three times the value of the most expensive streets in other regions. Wales lags behind, with the most expensive Welsh street reaching only three quarters of a million pounds, less than 13% of the average value of properties on the most expensive streets in London.

However, for those of us who have not yet purchased a property on Portnall Rise, or in Kensington Square, there is still hope. The Land Registry House Price Index, released monthly, shows us that although the regions of London and the South East are home to the streets with the highest average property price, they are the poorest performing regions in terms of property value increases since April 2000.

So, whereas Wales and the North East appear in the Mouseprice.com Street Rankings to be underperforming this could not be further from the truth. Although the most expensive streets in Wales and the North East have the lowest average property prices, property in these regions has increased in value by far more than property in London and the South East.

For example, between April 2000 and December 2006, property in the South East increased by 86.6% and London property has increased in value even less, by 82.4%. In comparison, Welsh property has seen an increase of 140.7% and Yorkshire and the Humber shows an increase of 144.2% in the same period. The North East shows the greatest increase of 144.6% – increasing almost two and a half times in value! So, London and the South East may be the home to today’s property millionaires, but it is the North East and Wales who are profiting!