Marsh & Parsons

Area Profile - North Kensington Sales

Variety in North Kensington

Matt Biggadike is the Sales Manager of the North Kensington office of Marsh & Parsons, one of the longest established estate agents in North Kensington. The office sells flats and houses in the areas of North Kensington, Maida Vale, Queen's Park Estate, Kensal Rise, Kensal Green and Notting Hill. Matt believes it is diversity that makes his patch so popular with house-hunters. "The area has a fantastic variety of life," says Biggadike. "We are so close to all the action in Notting Hill and it's a very lively urban area with the market on Portobello Road and excellent places to eat on Golborne Road."

North Kensington's reputation as a bohemian haunt of fashionistas, media types and songwriters remains: Jimi Hendrix wrote Purple Have at 167 Westbourne Grove which was then painted purple.

Houses and flats for sale are equally diverse and range from Victorian conversion flats to ex-local authority blocks and from villas and cottages to large family houses. "The area attracts a lot of people moving out from Kensington and Holland Park looking for a bit more house for their money. There are a lot of people in the arts and media living here but it is becoming increasingly popular with people from the City."

There are good Tube links into the City and roads leading out of the capital to Heathrow airport. North Kensington also offers a wide range of shops, boutiques, bars and fine restaurants, as well as parks and open spaces. Notting Hill Carnival, which was started by a social worker in 1965, is of course one of the area's best known events.

The best local schools, according to the Good Schools Guide, include basset House School, Pembridge Hall School and Wetherby School. "Oxford Gardens Primary is also an excellent local state school," says Biggadike.

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

As one of North Kensington's premier estate agents, Marsh & Parsons sells studio flats in the W10 area from £225,000 to £275,000 and Ladbroke Grove is particularly popular. Ex-local authority flats in low-rise blocks start at £250,000 for one-bedroom, but a one-bedroom conversion on Bassett Road or Oxford Gardens W10 ranges between £250,000 to £500,000 depending on size and specification.

House prices in the most popular streets, such as the St. Quintin's Conservation Area, a grid of streets off Bassett Road, range between £1.25 million and £2 million for a three bedroom terraced and a three-bedroom mews house in Alba Place W11 will cost about £850,000. On Bassett Road for example, Marsh & Parsons has sold two-bedroom flats for more than £950,000. For the largest four-bedroom houses overlooking the park on the Queen's Park Estate house-hunters can expect to pay up to £2 million.

Marsh & Parsons will also sell flats and houses for sale in Kensal Rise and Kensal Green NW10, where prices are slightly lower including two-bedroom flats from £350,000 to £375,000 and three and four bedroom houses for between £600,000 and £700,000 where many feature loft conversions. Maida Vale W9, which is close to Westbourne Park Station, is cheaper still with one bedroom conversion flats for sale from £250,000.

What else can you expect from North Kensington?

The area is blessed with excellent shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment. Shopping is as diverse as the people who live in the area and ranges from EJ Barnes, a bicycle shop which is the oldest business in Ladbroke Grove, to De La Fluente, a sumptuous deli on Portobello Road. The area is renowned for its fashions and Paul Smith and Tonic are among its most popular boutiques.

Wormwood Scrubs may be better known as a prison, but it is in fact a huge park with its own stables, and Little Wormwood Scrubs is another open space, popular with dog walkers and families, as it has a new children's playground. There are also gyms, a leisure centre and climbing wall and if all that sounds a bit energetic, North Kensington and its surrounds have a range of great pubs and restaurants serving food from all corners of the globe.

The Pelican on All Saints Road is one of the most popular gastropubs and the acclaimed Metropolitan serves progressive Modern Cuisine. Eclipse has a beautiful garden in summer and a roaring fire in winter as well as the best burgers you could eat. For more formal dining, try The Grove Fish Bar or Sausage and Mash, which serves not only bangers but also Spanish and Thai meals.

As one of the premier estate agents selling homes in the area, Marsh & Parsons prides itself on its local know how and we are able to supply a variety of local information including: the cost of a resident's parking permit, details of rubbish collection and where to find the nearest bank, florist or locksmith.

Rental range: £150pw up to £2,000pw.

Borough: Kensington and Chelsea.

Car park permit: Yes. Cost: £125pa, (Motorcycle £18pa). Covers: The whole borough. Good for parking in the Kings Road!

Congestion charge: With the extension this year some parts of North kensington are included

Best thing: Books for cooks. A bookshop dedicated to nothing but eating.