House prices: Which central London postcodes offer the most open space?
The W1K postcode of Mayfair and St James’s is the greenest pocket of the prime central London market, according to new research that looked at which London postcodes present high-end homebuyers with the most open space.
An estimated 36.5 per cent of the postcode area presents open outdoor spaces, by far the most of all prime central London postcodes, according to real estate advisory firm Astons.
It does come at a cost though, and with an average house price of just over £2m in the W1 postcode, it’s currently the most expensive of London’s most prestigious property postcodes.
Astons analysed each prime postcode based on its open space offering which includes everything from parks to commons, playing fields, golf courses and other open spaces important to the lives of London’s residents.
For a marginally more affordable investment, the SW1 postcode also offers a substantial amount of open space and with the average property costing £1.3m.
The SW1X and SW1W postcodes in Knightsbridge and Belgravia are home to the most open space of all areas in SW1, at 35.8 per cent and 32.6 per cent, respectively.
Mayfair and St James’s again rank high with the SW1Y and SW1A postcodes, also home to a considerable open space offering at 28.6 per cent.
South Kensington and Chelsea
South Kensington’s SW7 postcode (22.5 per cent) and Chelsea’s SW3 postcode (18.8 per cent) further rank as some of the best, providing home buyers with plenty of open space outside of their home. But again, the cost of securing this open space comes at a price, with the average property costing £2m and £1.4m, respectively.
“We know that the arrival of Covid and the lockdowns that followed resulted in homebuyers placing a far greater importance on size and open space when it comes to a property purchase and this has been no different across London’s very top end market,” Arthur Sarkisian, manager director of Astons, told City A.M.
“The availability of this additional open space is likely to be reflected in the price of homes although that’s not to say that you can’t maximise such a feature by thoroughly researching a desired area during the homebuying process,” he added.
| Prime areas | Postcode district | Average Price | % of area classed as open space |
| Mayfair & St James’s | W1K | £2,039,297 | 36.5% |
| Knightsbridge & Belgravia | SW1X | £1,277,740 | 35.8% |
| Knightsbridge & Belgravia | SW1W | £1,277,740 | 32.6% |
| Mayfair & St James’s | SW1Y | £1,277,740 | 28.6% |
| Mayfair & St James’s | SW1A | £1,277,740 | 28.6% |
| South Kensington | SW7 | £1,972,690 | 22.5% |
| Chelsea | SW3 | £1,407,758 | 18.8% |
| Mayfair & St James’s | W1J | £2,039,297 | 17.3% |
| Chelsea | SW10 | £1,092,148 | 17.1% |
| Kensington, Notting Hill & Holland Park | W8 | £1,696,070 | 16.8% |
| Mayfair & St James’s | W1S | £2,039,297 | 3.9% |