London's Kensington tops property rich list

Kensington in west London has come top of a property rich list,
where an iPad-sized floor space costs more than £550, a study found
today.

House prices in Kensington typically stand at £1.87 million, an increase of 5% or more than £90,000 on a year ago, according to property search website Zoopla.

Kensington is also home to Britain's most expensive street, Kensington Palace Gardens, where the average home is worth the princely sum of £22.17 million, the study found.

London, which has seen a relatively healthy property market despite the recession with overseas buyers regarding it as a "safe haven" amid the eurozone crisis, dominated the most expensive neighbourhoods list. Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Notting Hill and West Brompton all made the top five.

Researchers found property values in the most well-heeled areas of London are almost 10 times higher than in other parts of the country.

They calculated that an iPad-sized area of floor space measuring 69.45 square inches in Kensington would cost over £550, while the same space in Middlesbrough is worth around £60.

Nicholas Leeming, business development director at Zoopla.co.uk, said: "While the majority of the country's homeowners reflect on a year of stagnant and falling average house prices, those at the top of the market have had a good run over the past year.

"International demand for prime properties in the nation's premium postcodes has boosted prices in London and the South East and further widened the gap between the haves and have nots."

Britain is home to an estimated 245,790 property millionaires, a 12% increase on a year ago, the study found. There are 6,682 streets in Britain where the average home is worth more than £1 million.

More than a third (35%) of these "million pound streets" are in London, with a heavy concentration of them also found in the surrounding areas of Guildford, Leatherhead, Beaconsfield and Cobham.

Virginia Water in Surrey, home of Wentworth Golf Club, was named as the most expensive area outside London and Britain's most valuable town. Average prices there stand at just over £968,000, although this is a fall of 2.94% on a year ago.

Graig Road in the Cardiff suburb of Lisvane is Wales's priciest street, with houses there worth nearly £900,000 typically.

North Charlotte Street in Edinburgh is Scotland's most valuable area, where a home comes with a price tag of around £1.79 million.

The study used information from the Zoopla website, which lists property for sale as well as actual selling prices.

Britain's most expensive postcode areas, with their average house price

1. W8, Kensington, £1,873,866.

2. SW7, Knightsbridge, £1,430,863.

3. SW3, Chelsea, £1,425,385.

4. W11, Notting Hill, £1,302,763.

5. SW10, West Brompton, £1,140,593.

6. NW3, Hampstead, £1,022,748.

7. SW1, Westminster, £1,010,228.

8. W1, West End, £987,191.

9. GU25, Virginia Water,£968,009.

10. SW13, Barnes, £958,871.

Britain's most valuable towns, with their average house price

1. Virginia Water, Surrey, £968,009.

2. Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, £796,064.

3. Cobham, Surrey, £744,659.

4. Keston, London, £743,768.

5. Esher, Surrey, £704,200.

6. Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, £698,003.

7. Richmond, Surrey, £668,728.

8. Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, £648,134.

9. Radlett, Hertfordshire, £642,130.

10. Weybridge, Surrey,£608,351.

Britain's most valuable streets, with their postcode and average house price

1. Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8, £22,167,649.

2. The Boltons, London, SW10, £18,591,793.

3. Frognal Way, London, NW3, £10,989,886.

4. Courtenay Avenue, London, N6, £8,625,444.

5. Compton Avenue, London, N6, £8,456,607.

6. Park Place Villas, London, W2, £7,912,172.

7. Palace Green, London, W8, £7,228,788.

8. Montrose Place, London, SW1X, £7,168,084.

9. Manresa Road, London, SW3, £7,076,769.

10. Ilchester Place, London, W14, £6,750,971.

Here are the most valuable streets in Scotland, with their postcode and average house price:

1. North Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH2, £1,791,179.

2. Caledonian Crescent, Auchterarder, PH3, £1,591,927.

3. Whitehouse Terrace, Edinburgh, EH9, £1,520,685.

4. Balmoral Court, Auchterarder, PH3, £1,503,312.

5. Easter Belmont Road, Edinburgh, EH12, £1,413,752.

6. Wester Coates Avenue, Edinburgh, EH12, £1,377,871.

7. Succoth Place, Edinburgh, EH12, £1,237,380.

8. West Bowling Green Street, Edinburgh, EH6, £1,227,196.

9. Houston Road, Kilmacolm, PA13, £1,177,429.

10. Mackintosh Place, Irvine, KA11, £1,168,049.

And here are the most valuable streets in Wales:

1. Graig Road, Cardiff, CF14, £889,798.

2. Llys Helyg Drive, Llandudno, LL30, £859,783.

3. Twyncyn, Dinas Powys, CF64, £774,151.

4. Marine Drive, Llandudno, LL30, £772,194.

5. The Mount, Cardiff, CF14, £753,691.

6. Llanerchydol, Welshpool, SY21, £728,984.

7. Pendoylan, Cowbridge, CF71, £726,919.

8. Benar Headland, Pwllheli, LL53, £722,824.

9. St Andrews Major, Dinas Powys, CF64, £719,003.

10. Pen-Y-Turnpike Road, Dinas Powys, CF64, £718,565.