An ex-council house in the capital has sold for £1.2m, almost 10 times its original price, when it was originally purchased under right-to-buy rules.
The three-bedroom property, located near Covent Garden, was bought from Westminster Council in 1990 for £130,000. Its existing buyers kept the flat until it was sold, fetching just below the asking price of £1.35m.
Mansion
Located in a mansion block, one entirely inhabited by council tenants, the property is also in close proximity to the Royal Opera House.
Barry Marner, of estate agents Bernard Marcus, observed that, ‘with central London property prices at a premium and with demand for properties far outstripping supply, we weren’t surprised that this former council flat reached this impressive price.’[1]
Tracy Kellet, a property agent who purchases property for wealthy clients, believes that council houses were becoming increasingly popular with buy-to-let investors. Kellet said,’ any stigma is waning fast as there’s a whole generation of people who don’t even know what a traditional council house is or was.’[1]
‘Investors are keen as they often give great yields as purchase prices are lower than average’, she added.[1]
[1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/excouncil-flat-in-covent-garden-sells-for-12m–10-times-its-original-price-10454989.html