Is this Rod Stewart’s new home – a £4.65m mansion in the heart of Essex?
Rumours are circulating that British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart has added to his property portfolio and bought Durrington House in Essex for £4.65m.
A quick look on Zoopla and we see that Durrington House was previously listed for £3,150,000 back in May 2012. Naturally, we cannot help wondering what was behind the £1.5m price leap from one year ago, but unlikely we will ever know.
Price aside, if this is indeed Rod’s home he’ll be neighbours with another musical legend (depending on your musical taste), although maybe not for long, as he is trying to sell it.
Stephen Harris, the 56-year-old founder, main songwriter and lyricist for the world’s most famous heavy metal band, Iron Maiden has lived in Sheering Hall, Essex since 1994 and is currently on the market for £5.85m – you can see it here. It comes complete with its own pub and some rather interesting interior decor!
Anyhow, Rod’s new home is said to be one of the finest houses in the area, occupying a private and secluded position spanning 20 acres of land. The house is adorned with period features and surrounded by immaculate gardens and is the first time the house has come to the market in over 50 years, having been within the same family for two generations.
As you can see from the pictures, the property is set in extensive private and secluded grounds, with 10 bedrooms, 4 receptions and five bedrooms and a mixture of formal reception and family rooms.
Checkout the pictures below:
More details on the property here
Gardening this May bank holiday? Read this first…
Did you know that the contents of the average garden are now worth nearly £2,000 with home owners splashing out on £894 alone in the past 12 months on the likes of outdoor furniture and decorations.
Sounds like a lot doesn’t it? But if you have your eye on something it’s best to set a goal. The Money Advice Service guide How to set a savings goal could help.
One in ten homeowners recently admitted in a report that they have spent money on their garden as they can’t afford to move home, while one in three say that spending a lot of time outside (weather permitting) is the main reason for upgrading their outdoor spaces.
Despite this hefty investment, 12.5 million (or more than two in five) of homeowners are leaving their gardens unprotected, by not checking whether their items are covered under current policies, or by having no insurance at all.
It’s all the more worrying in light of the fact that 1.4 million thefts from gardens and outdoor spaces were recorded last year, marking a 17% increase over the last five years.
Follow these handy tips from the Money Advice Service for keeping your gardens safe:
1. Check your contents insurance documents to see what you are and are not covered for. If you have no contents insurance, it might be an idea to get some.
2. When possible, keep expensive tools, lawnmowers and bicycles out of sight and locked away.
3. Don’t forget about tools and ladders that could be used to break into your home too.
4. Make sure garden sheds, gates, garages and outbuildings remain bolted with a secure lock.
5. Plug gaps in fences or bushes to stop opportunistic thieves slipping through.
6. Use landscaping to your advantage. Try to plant some thorny plants and shrubs with prickly leaves as a natural barrier to deter the thieves.
7. Shrubs and overgrown trees can prove to be an asset to burglars. Make sure you prune overgrown and large trees.
8. Mark valuable items, such as patio furniture and ornaments, with your postcode, and keep photos of your garden valuables for your claim in case anything is stolen or vandalised
9. Keeping your driveways or front paths updated with pebbles or gravel can help you to hear someone approaching your property.
10. Look into joining your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme in order to help protect yours and your neighbours’ properties
Properties to buy in Huddersfield and Harrogate
Four properties to buy in Harrogate, West Yorkshire
3 bedroom end terrace house for sale £199,950
Torrs Road, Harrogate HG1
5 bedroom semi detached house for sale – offers over £425,000
Kent Bank, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1
2 bedroom flat for sale Guide price £315,000
Imperial Mansions, Royal Parade, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1
2 bedroom flat for sale Offers in region of £349,950
Otley Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2
Want to know what the market is doing in Harrogate? Check out our area property stats page
Four properties to buy in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
5 bedroom detached house for sale offers in region of £595,000
St Helen’s Gate, Almondbury, Huddersfield, Kirklees HD4
2 bedroom flat for sale £389,950
Stoneleigh Pavillions, Bryan Road, Huddersfield HD2
4 bedroom terraced house for sale £234,950
Gledholt Road, Gledholt, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD1
2 bedroom flat for sale £190,000
Beech Hollow, Edgerton, Huddersfield HD3
Want to know what the market is doing in Huddersfield? Check out our area property stats page
Housing market confidence at highest level in 3 years
The housing market has seen a number of positive events in recent weeks including initiatives in the Budget and the latest Zoopla Housing Market Sentiment Survey reveals that confidence is up amongst homeowners – a significant step towards a recovery.
According to the research UK homeowners are expecting house prices to rise by 4.5% over the next six months. This is the biggest predicted house price increase by UK homeowners in over 3 years and could signal that 2013 is set to be the best year for the property market since the financial crisis struck.
The proportion of homeowners who think that house prices will increase this year is also at the highest level for almost three years with three quarters (74%) of those surveyed predicting prices in their area will increase, the most since the second quarter of 2010.
Confidence has grown notably over just the past few months as only 65% of owners predicted an increase back in December. And only 13% of owners now expect prices to fall over the course of the next six months, down from 19% at the end of last year.
Owners in Yorkshire and the Humber are the least bullish with only 61% expecting property prices to rise over the next six months. In stark contrast, 89% of London homeowners predict prices to rise by the end of summer making them the most confident property owners in the UK.
So, with first-time buyer lending gradually increasing and mortgages becoming more readily available, there is real belief that the property market is starting to turn a corner and finally drag itself out of the hole since the financial crisis.
Methodology
- Zoopla invited registered users of Zoopla.co.uk to participate in this study.
- The survey was fielded from 25th – 29 March 2013.
- There were 4116 total respondents. 3485 of these were homeowners. Statistics based on a sample of this size are accurate to within less than +/- 1.0% with 95% confidence, if the sample is drawn at random from the population it intends to represent.
- These respondents represent the perspective of the Zoopla.co.uk user community, and could be considered to represent the population of people interested in the UK residential property market.
- All statistics are based on the full sample unless otherwise noted.
Soho, Kate Moss and The Look of Love
Flat where Kate Moss was photographed in the living room for a cover photograph in Vogue.
Jessie Hewitson takes a look at the property market in the once-seedy area, now home to Michelin-starred restaurants
The streets of Soho are currently being featured in The Look of Love, a biopic about Paul Raymond, the Liverpool-born “King of Soho”. Raymond started his career as a mind-reading novelty act and opened the UK’s first strip club in 1958. By the time he died, in 2008, he amassed a gigantic property portfolio, around 60 acres of land between Shaftesbury Avenue and Oxford Street.
Zoopla.co.uk SmartMap of Soho
The property market of the area has changed unrecognisably since Raymond’s heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. “Since we began selling and letting property around Soho in the mid to late Eighties, the edgy ‘Sohemian’ atmosphere and rougher sides to the area have changed considerably,” says Laurence Glynne, partner at LDG agency .
While the seedy underbelly is still very much in existence in places, particularly in Brewer Street, much of Soho has moved out of the red thanks to a clear-up spearheaded by Westminster City Council. Now, in the place of the strip clubs and brothels, Michelin-starred restaurants have popped up – Quo Vadis, Arbutus, as well as the Soho Hotel – populated by media and creative-types who love nothing better than to base themselves in a formerly run-down area.
Soho has three distinct quarters says Glynne: the stylish office and residential area around Broadwick, Lexington and Carnaby streets; the “livelier” atmosphere (read: be prepared to be woken up at night) around Old Compton Street, Brewer Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, and the fashionable food quarter of Greek Street, Frith Street, and Dean Street. The jazz scene and pop music influence is more apparent in Frith and Dean Street, most notably at Ronnie Scott’s.
Soho’s (relative) affordability as a zone 1 location is driving popularity, according to buying agent Roarie Scarisbrick, partner at Property Vision. “You can buy a half-decent flat in Soho for £1,000 per square foot, whereas the base price in Mayfair would be at least £2,000 as a starting price.” See here for Zoopla’s Soho property stats page.
This doesn’t mean Soho is a cheap place to live: a typical one-bed rents for £374 per week, according to Phin Twiselton, an agent with Hurford Salvi Carr, and a two-bed for £600 per week. For sales, a one-bed in a period block costs around £550,000 and a two-bed starts at £775,000. LDG is currently selling a 602 sq ft one-bed flat in Brewer Street for £675,000. The property is formerly owned by photographer Corinne Day, who snapped Kate Moss in the living room for a cover photograph in Vogue.
Formerly owned by photographer Corinne Day, who snapped Kate Moss in the living room for a cover photograph in Vogue.
Buyers are often young, arty and at home in an Soho’s urban environment. Properties close to Golden and Soho Square are among the most covetable – small pockets of green in which to retreat from the hustle and bustle.
Property for sale in Soho in our new Grid view on Zoopla.co.uk.
Phil Spencer’s Top Property Tip of the Month: Focus
Focusing on your property search requirements.
If you’re looking to buy a property, there is no point in going out on viewings until you’ve established what it is you’re looking for, where you want to be and what you’re likely to get with the budget you have. Viewing properties before you know what it is you’re looking for can be dangerous and a waste of time for both you and the agent.
You need to know what you’re looking for in order to be confident you’ve found the right place at the end of the day. This comes down to good property research and asking yourself many searching questions.
A successful property search needs focus and direction. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle with three key pieces – budget, space and location. What you can spend is the starting point; the other two pieces need to fit around your budget.
Here are the steps to take to ensure a successful property search:
1. Speak to an IFA or your bank to get an idea of what your budget might be for the property purchase.
2. Make a list of your requirements (number of bedrooms, kitchen size, style, commute time, schools, garden, etc.). Mark each requirement on an importance scale of 1-10 as you’ll likely to have to compromise on something down the line.
3. Use the information on Zoopla to research local property values, sold house prices and area stats such as average price per square foot in the areas you’re interested in.
4. Discuss your requirements with a few local estate agents – good ones will be helpful. You can find a list of local agents in the areas you are interested in here
5. Explore all the options – only by exploring all the options can you eventually make a decision on the right home with confidence and speed.
6. Narrow your search – with every viewing you will find out more about what you want, don’t want and can and can’t afford. Use each viewing as a means to refine your criteria so that you can be more precise in what you are looking for and where.
And finally, listen to your emotions – but don’t let them take over!
Every month, Phil’s top tips will be published on the Zoopla Blog.
Make sure you never miss one and sign up for the Zoopla newletter here
Liz Hurley’s (@ElizabethHurley) old Fulham home up for sale
Elizabeth Hurley lived in this maisonette in Fulham in the 80′s
Back in the late 1980s, in the days BH (Before Hugh), Elizabeth Hurley lived in a modest maisonette in Fulham. This property is currently on the market, now elevated in status because of the celebrity connection, as well as having been renovated recently. Jessie Hewitson takes a peak.
These days it’s a sleek, modern grey-and-white painted property on the two upper floors of a period conversion. Located on Sherbrooke Road, Fulham, London, SW6 (average property value according to Zoopla £768,057) in chi-chi Munster Village, it is on the market for £600,000 through the estate agency John D Wood.
Hurley, now 47, lived in the bijou flat while filming Remando Al Vientro (translation: Rowing in the Wind). It was on the set of this film that she met floppy-haired Grant, now 52, who then, according to neighbours, became a regular visitor.
Much like Hurley herself, the 810 sq ft two-bedroom, two-bathroom flat has gentrified considerably over time. In 2009 it was also on the market – though back then it was a one-bed; it has since been refurbished and extended, with a bedroom and bathroom being added in the attic space.
Hurley now has far bigger property fish to fry: she and her new fiance, cricketer Shane Warne, have combined their millions to buy a £6m country estate in Herefordshire, and Hurley also owns a 400-acre farm in the Cotswolds.
Hugh Grant, meanwhile, stayed local and now owns a substantial home in Chelsea. Last year he also bought a £1.175m terraced house in Fulham for the mother of his two children, 32 year-old actress Tinglan Hong.
