London Housing



Houses in Holland Park, London by Danny Robinson

When visiting London, it’s always fun to think about what it would be like to live there. It sounds so nice to be in an exciting international city until you learn about the cost. I remember my first look at an estate agents window and thinking that the prices were pretty reasonable. That was until it was explained that those prices were weekly! This is undoubtedly to prevent sticker shock! London is one of the most expensive housing markets in the world. The average rent in the posh Kensington area for a two bedroom flat is approximately £4,000 or $5,395! And the average price to buy London Property is $3,890-$4,300 per square foot.

Americans are used to space, it’s the first thing you learn to live without in London. A case in point is the refrigerator. In America, refrigerators are big and bigger, but in London, you might easily find what we would refer to as a dorm size refrigerator to serve a two-bedroom flat! Every resident is also required to pay a council tax which is based on the specific area that your are living in. It can range from £700 per year to about £2000 per year. The local council is responsible for running most local services such as schools, waste collections, social services and roads. There is also tax for the Greater London Authority.


London Row Houses by Supermac1961

I did a cost comparison of Chicago to London and London was 84% higher. To compare where you live, please visit http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living.
The one nice thing about the London housing markets is the individuality of properties. There are not as many cookie cutter apartment buildings as most flats are in pre-existing homes. Of course, it does all depend upon where you live. London is quite large and the further out you live, the less expensive it is. If you would like to do a little snooping there is a great site to give you a picture of what you could expect should you move to London http://www.foxtons.co.uk/.   Happy dreaming!