Wrecked London home sells for £500,000 more than asking price after three-way bidding war

A bidding war between three families has lead to a large, dilapidated house in London’s St. John’s Wood selling for £6.25m ($8.6m), which is £500,000 more than the asking price.

Estate agent Aston Chase, which acted as joint sole agent with Arlington Residential, told Yahoo Finance UK that this is the “latest evidence of a frenzy in the housing market driven by pent-up demand.”

“The appetite for family houses in North West London is often underestimated by people who feel that the events of the past 12 months have suppressed the sales market," said Marc Schneiderman, director of Arlington Residential.

"This really could not be further from the truth, with demand currently far outstripping the availability of houses for sale.”

He said 70% of his company’s sales in the last six months have resulted in two or more buyers competing for the same property.

The property in St John's Wood is an eight bedroom, 7,074 square-feet family house on Grove End Road.

Secure gates on the property give access to a private drive leading to the house, which has an ‘L’ shaped footprint, and opens onto a 80 feet garden.

The home has an artist’s studio, seven reception rooms and a family kitchen. The bedrooms are located on the upper floor, along with six bathrooms.

There are also walk-in cupboards, a wine cellar and store rooms.

Aston Chase said all three bidders were UK private clients who live in the immediate area and know Grove End Road well, and were looking to create a home for their own private occupation, rather than being developers.

It added that buyers are seeking larger homes and with stamp duty holiday extended to end of June the London, the market is very buoyant.

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The successful buyer will now embark on a major renovation project.

Mark Pollack, co-founding director of Aston Chase, explained that the property “hit a chord with numerous applicants who were attracted by the opportunity to create their own home resulting in the competitive bidding process.”

He said the St John’s Wood marketplace is one of the most active in London for both sales and lettings deals, with a large supply of detached and semi-detached houses set in private gardens.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a large uplift in buyer and tenant demand for homes with outside space and their own private entrances, he added.

Going forward, Aston Chase believe buyers and tenants will continue to want houses with outside space and proximity to parks “which will help to ensure that St John’s Wood remains one of the most sought after and active housing markets in the capital.”

A report in December said that the coronavirus has prompted UK households to re-evaluate their housing needs, meaning demand for family houses with gardens, parking and extra space to work from home rose.

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