Would you live in one of the narrowest houses in the UK?
Unsurprisingly, the solution for many has been to extend “anywhere they can”, says Gilbert, who recently valued a two-bedroom flat in which the owner was negotiating to buy the adjacent garage to demolish, rebuild and extend his home out the side. When the PR executive Bill Hartnett and his wife, Liz, a teacher, needed more space, they added a loft conversion to their three-bed terrace in Ealing so their two young children, Jamie, 5, and Rosie, 4, and visiting guests would all have their own room. The extra bedroom and bathroom from Landmark Lofts cost £60,000, including all fittings. “Apart from the convenience and comfort, when you look at the cost of a four-bed house, the loft conversion made a lot of sense,” Hartnett says.
They may move to far-flung places, but home is still London for this group. Young families moving abroad for a few years are deciding to let rather than sell, as, that way, “they still have a foothold on the property market in London”, says Caroline Basma, senior lettings manager at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward in Earlsfield, in the southwest of the capital. “It’s peace of mind.” Three- to four-bed terraces in the area let for approximately £2,950 a month. However, this trend is now having an impact locally, and rents in some areas are beginning to fall, as “there is a higher percentage than normal of family homes on the market to rent”, Basma says.
