London – The Hub of the Modern World

London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, is the hub of administrative power, technological advances, British culture and excellence. The centre is also known for its exquisite and antique real estate. London is unquestionably the hub of the new world.

Author: Damilola Dimeji-Ajayi

A home to the British culture, the city of London is about 2000 years old with varying architectural designs spread across the city which means there are different forms of housing to suit any kind of budget. The 2012 Olympics attracted a huge investment to London which served as a boost to the housing market. London has so many wonderful architectural forms from various eras and cultures including luxury apartments, flats, townhouses, and Victorian terraced homes within the prime real estate holdings at Holland Park, Knightsbridge, Mayfair, and Notting Hill. Kensington Palace Gardens and The Bishops Avenue are amongst the most expensive streets in London. The number of landmarks that can be found in London makes it a city with no shortage of activities to explore the cultural wonders.

Buildings in London vary from skyscrapers to medieval homes according to their architectural design often because of the time these houses were built. In London, you will find tasteful medieval buildings like the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Lambeth Palace, Mansion House and even the Buckingham Palace to mention a few. Religious houses like St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Dunstan in the East, Westminster Cathedral, St. Pancras Old Church, All Saints Margaret Street Church and the Temple Church were built during the medieval era.

High-rise architecture is often restricted in some areas in London if it would obstruct the view of other historic buildings in the city. Popular skyscrapers like St Mary Axe, Broadgate Tower and the Canary Wharf Tower can be found in the financial districts of London. Although, in some parts of Central London, other skyscrapers like the 95-storey Shard London Bridge, the tallest building in the European Union, is seen.

London, being the political capital of England is an exciting place to live as there are various theatres like Adelphi Theatre, Arts Theatre, Apollo Victoria Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre, London Coliseum and many more theatres to soak up the joy of British culture. You can also go on a shopping spree in London in various markets like the Brick Lane Market, Alfie’s Antique Market, Portobello Road Market, Greenwich Market, Broadway Market, Brixton Village and Market Row amongst a host of others.

In 1908, 1948 and 2012, London hosted the Summer Olympics. London also hosted the World Championships in Athletics for the first time. Wembley stadiums, Emirates stadium and Stanford stadiums are all located in the hub of the modern world – London. London has six clubs in the English Premier League namely Crystal Palace, Fulham, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Chelsea. The urban development and town planning of London have made the city strategic for sport events and tourist influx all through the year.

The city of London plays home to a varying number of Media houses with BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) being a major player in the media sector. London is powered by electricity distribution networks and gas which provide energy for the companies, cable systems, towers and the entire city which is managed by Scotia Gas Networks, UK Power Networks and National Grid plc.

“A good area to consider for investment is the financial district of London where residential stock is limited and prices seem to be bucking the trend, going up by 4.5% in the first half of 2018, compared with the same period last year.”

Real Estate Market in London

Over time, the formula for investing in the real estate market in London was to buy, sell and with an increase in price of 10% annually or even more, investors always received a high return on investment. This formula which is widely accepted as urban development is positively correlated with the real estate market.

According to LonRes, “a good area to consider for investment is the financial district of London where residential stock is limited and prices seem to be bucking the trend, going up by 4.5% in the first half of 2018, compared with the same period last year.”

According to Henry Pryor, “some emerging areas of London with a large number of new developments is Nine Elms, Europe’s largest regeneration project, on the south bank of the Thames, extending from Lambeth Bridge in the north to Chelsea Bridge in the south. Nine Elms is undergoing a £15 billion (US$19.8 billion) transformation, and there are 20,000 new homes set to be built in 39 developments. Prices range from £560,000 (US$740,515) for a one-bedroom apartment to £15.49 million (US$20.5 million) for the 33rd floor of Aykon London One, which is 7,000 square feet and has interiors designed by Versace. In some areas of Nine Elms, homes are selling for £2,200 (US$2,906) per square foot, although, there is a rising demand in London for more affordable housing.”

Based on the demand for affordable housing, it would be quite advisable to also invest in houses closer transport links, or near the new Crossrail Stations where the potential is higher by a rental yield of 6% due to the new taxes associated with buying to rent.

London has always been the hub for real estate transactions as both foreigners and indigenes who have some forms of activities ranging from schooling, business or vacation in the city will need housing units whilst in the city. Well, the city of London is one of the most expensive places to buy a property by some margin with average prices more than twice the national average of £216,103.

The Bank of England raised interest rates in August 2018 for only the second time but most mortgage holders were on fixed-rate deals and therefore unaffected by changes in the rate. According to Robert Gardner, “much will depend on how broader economic conditions evolve, especially in the labour market, but also with respect to interest rates.”

Transportation System in London

Transportation of people, goods and services have been revolutionised in London. The Port of London is the second
largest in the United Kingdom and it is located along River Thames which manages over 45 million tonnes of cargo per year. London has a very busy airspace compared to other cities as it is the hub of popular airports like London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Stansted Airport, London Luton Airport, London City Airport and London Southend Airport. The bus network of London is one of the largest in the world, operates 24 hours a day unlike other transport systems in other states.

Attractions in London

The Elizabeth Tower and the Houses of Parliament, also known as Big Ben, which weighs 13 tons is a major attraction in the city of London. Other tourist attractions are the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, Somerset House, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Eye, Sea Life London, Churchill War Rooms, Museum of London and Tower Bridge.

Featured in Prestige Nigeria Issue 1. Vol. 4