Are London First Floor Flats More Expensive?
In period properties, first floor flats are generally the most sought after.
They tend to have the highest ceilings, largest windows and often have the largest balcony.
They are incredibly popular, but also tend to carry a premium price.
However, is this always the case?
Let’s have a look at the facts…
To give you a very rough idea whilst looking at a snapshot of Marylebone:
1 bed ground floor flat (559 sq ft) - sold for £865,000 in Sept 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,547.
1 bed lower ground flat (844 sq ft) - sold for £875,000 in Feb 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,036.
1 bed first floor flat (857 sq ft) - sold for £1,862,500 in July 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £2,173.
Of course, different streets within Marylebone carry different price points.
Different ends of the same street and different sides of the same street also carry different price points.
But, upon initial viewing (of a very, very, very small amount of data) first floor flats do seem to carry both a price premium and a price/ sq ft premium.
“They tend to have the highest ceilings, largest windows and often have the largest balcony.”
Now, let’s look at a particular street within London, Cadogan Square, starting with the highest price/ sq ft first, for 2 bed flats sold since January 2019 until now:
2 bed first floor flat (1,579 sq ft) - sold for £4,525,000 in Sept 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £2,866.
2 bed ground floor flat (1,467 sq ft) - sold for £4,100,000 in March 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £2,795.
2 bed second floor flat (1,446 sq ft) - sold for £3,900,000 in Feb 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £2,697.
2 bed first floor flat (881 sq ft) - sold for £1,900,000 in March 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £2,157.
2 bed first floor flat (1,001 sq ft) - sold for £2,060,000 in Oct 2019, which is a price/ sq ft of £2,058.
2 bed fourth floor flat (1,162 sq ft) - sold for £2,300,000 in Nov 2019, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,979.
2 bed fourth/ fifth floor flat (1,495 sq ft) - sold for £2,950,000 in Dec 2019, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,973.
2 bed third floor flat (1,311 sq ft) - sold for £2,475,000 in March 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,888.
2 bed second floor flat (1,195 sq ft) - sold for £2,100,000 in July 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,757.
2 bed fourth floor flat (687 sq ft) - sold for £1,175,000 in July 2020, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,710.
2 bed lower ground floor flat (1,894 sq ft) - sold for £2,200,000 in Sept 2019, which is a price/ sq ft of £1,162.
The facts above show that all of the first floor flats sold for over £2,000/ sq ft.
However, there was a ground floor flat and a second floor flat (as well as one of the first floor flats) that sold for over £2,500/ sq ft.
Looking at the data available on Cadogan Square, first floor flats do carry a general premium in terms of price/ sq ft.
However, they are not necessarily the only expensive floors within period properties.
Would you be willing to pay the premium to live in a first floor flat on a road such as Cadogan Square?
Or, would you rather spend less in terms of price/ sq ft and possibly buy a larger flat or a flat with more private outside space?