Now’s the time to house hunt in Chelsea

Every now and then the London property cycle creates an anomaly missed by the majority of property buyers until it’s too late.

It started about 25 years ago when overseas buyers lobbed a rock into the prime central London property pond – created ironically by a Labour government. In the run up to the Euro, the demand for prime central London property went into overdrive. The reasons were many, but ultimately it came down to London’s unique blend of safety – both geographical and political, ability to look and trade East to West and its status as a world City. London always had that air amongst international buyers of a place where, if the balloon went up in your own country, you could safely go and live in your not insubstantial investment.

This had led to large parts of the centre becoming a ghost town. And yet, just as importantly, it has now created a crucial crossover point into the new era of comparative affordability we’re currently witnessing.