Period architects help retain value

Harrods Estates and Knight Frank say that period properties designed by well known architects are retaining 10 to 15 per cent of their value in the current market. The agencies believe the investment in a property designed by a well known architect is comparable to investing in the work of a famous artist.

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James Simpson, Head of Knight Frank s St John s Wood office, says: When you buy a property that has been designed by a well-known architect you know you are investing in quality of design and build. It is also an investment into a recognised and respected name that will always set your property apart from others.

The market will always be subject to fluctuations, but in our experience, we have found that extra special properties, by significant architects, never suffer as badly as their counterparts, he continues.

Prime examples of this kind of starchitect designed houses with historical clout are those by John Nash, arguably London s most influential architect to date. Nash was responsible for master planning significant areas of London, including Regent s Park and Marylebone, and famously remodelled Buckingham Palace.

Knight Frank and Harrods Estates (020 7409 9001) are currently selling a five-bedroom Regency house by Nash on Gloucester Gate with a guide price of £9.2 million. Emma Pearson of Harrods Estates believes Nash properties will hold their value as they are so hard to come by: John Nash houses very rarely come onto the market because they are often kept within families for generations. The owners of the properties are always very reluctant to sell as large family houses in this kind of location, with the added cache of being designed by John Nash are becoming harder and harder to find.

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