Our analysis shows that in terms of how residential value is concentrated, Kensington & Chelsea sits far ahead of any other borough or local authority across the UK, not just by virtue of high property prices but also the relative density of housing in the borough. The combination of the two means that on average in each sq km of the borough, there is over £9.3bn of residential property.
The strong price growth across London in the past decade means that Watford – which surprisingly has the highest concentration of residential property value of any local authority beyond the capital – is preceded by 27 of London’s 33 boroughs in a list of value per sq km.
High housing density rather than high property prices propels Watford up the league table. That puts it ahead of more obvious candidates such as Oxford and Cambridge, where green space and the concentration of heritage assets mean much lower housing densities, but act as a magnet to those relocating from London. The key corresponding difference between Watford and the two varsity cities is the level of net housing wealth they hold, with Watford carrying far more mortgage debt relative to the value of its housing (28% v 16%).
Of the 10 areas with the highest concentrations of housing value beyond London, only the high value semi-suburban areas of Elmbridge and Epsom & Ewell have a housing density of less than 1,000 dwellings per sq km. Still they deliver substantially higher concentrations of residential value and net housing wealth than the centres of Manchester and Birmingham, which by comparison have been slow to benefit from the ripple effect out of London.
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