Marsh & Parsons

Area Profile - Kensington Sales

The Kensington branch of Marsh & Parsons was our first estate agency branch and we have operated within the area since 1856. The office sells flats and houses in the most expensive and exclusive district of London where houses can change hands for as much as £70 million. The heart of Kensington boasts the bustling shopping streets of Kensington High Street and Church Street, where boutiques and high-street chains rub shoulders with antique dealers all complimented by the sophisticated bars, pubs and restaurants.

There are tube stations on the High Street (District and Circle lines), at Notting Hill Gate (Central, Circle and District) and Gloucester Road (Piccadilly and District). Mainline services are also available at the western end of Kensington High Street at Kensington Olympia.

One of the biggest attractions of Kensington, however, is its palace and gardens which borders Hyde Park, and the most expensive property overlooks these beautiful open spaces. In Kensington Palace Gardens W8, Bernie Ecclestone and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal have homes.

As one of Kensington premier estate agents, Marsh & Parsons not only sells flats and houses in this exclusive enclave but also throughout the entire W8 area.

So what will you get for your money in Kensington W8?

Craig Tonkin the Sales Manager of the Kensington Church Street branch says that prices start at about £300,000 for a studio flat in a mansion block, such as Chatsworth Court and Marlborough Court W8. "One-bedroom flats in the Hillgate Street conservation area sell from about £400,000," says Tonkin. "But you can buy one with a roof terrace in Hornton Street, for example, for £675,000 or in Lexham Gardens for between £750,000 and £800,000." Campden Hill W8 and its surrounding streets which are equidistant from both Notting Hill Gate and High Street Kensington tube stations are among the most sought after addresses, but they were not always so glamorous with Campden Street and Peel Street once an area of low-income housing with no sewers known as The Racks where people and pigs lived together!

The price of apartments for sale in the area can go far higher and in Abingdon Mansions at the western end of the High Street, three-bedroom flats now sell for £1.8 million and in York House a four bedroom flat covering 3,000 square feet was recently sold by Marsh & Parsons for £5 million. Families looking for houses for sale in Kensington can expect to pay between £1.3 million and £1.5 million for a two or three bedroom house in Pembroke Place or Adam and Eve Mews W8, which is handy for High Street Kensington tube station.

On the Phillimore Estate on roads such as Argyll Road and Phillimore Gardens W8 prices rise to about £7.5 million and sometimes much more, but Kensington Palace Gardens is the most expensive road in the UK and properties here run in to tens of millions of pounds.

What else can you expect from Kensington W8?

Craig Tonkin says that people choose to live in Kensington "not only because of the excellent transport links, good local schools and beautiful parks but also because it is a safe place to live" being one of London's most secure neighbourhoods. Schools are certainly a big attraction for buyers moving into Kensington and the Good Schools Guide lists more than a dozen, including Ashbourne, Thomas's, Collingham, Mander Portman Woodward, Our Lady of Victories, Francis Holland and Saint Philip's.

Kensington also has some of the best pubs in London, including The Churchill, on Church Street, whose walls are adorned with Second World War memorabilia, and the Elephant and Castle on Holland Street, just behind the High Street. The Piano Bar, behind a tiny door on the High Street, is a real gem where Bazz Norton and his grand piano entertain drinkers with a wide mix of tunes and requests. For formal dining, residents are spoilt for choice, from Sally Clarke's to Kensington Place, The Orangery in the grounds of the palace and Maggie Jones's named after Princess Margaret.

For shoppers, there is a vast array of boutiques, supermarkets and specialist retailers. The former Barkers department store has recently been replaced with a Whole Foods supermarket and on Saturdays, Kensington hosts its own farmers market.

Our estate agents at Marsh & Parsons pride themselves on the quality and depth of their local knowledge and as well as providing information on the price of a resident's parking permit (£108 a year) and refuse collection (twice weekly), we make it our business to know just what goes on in Kensington.

Borough: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Best thing: Kensington Roof Gardens on top of Barkers. A piece of genuine fantasia in the heart of London.