- A plot of fresh air above a southwest London flat is being auctioned for £10,000
London’s housing market could face a radical overhaul as a plot of ‘airspace’ goes up for auction in Battersea.
The fresh air above 47 Northcote Road is being sold with a guide price of £10,000
The ‘vacant possession’ in southwest London is up for grabs with a 150-year lease and a ‘peppercorn ground rent’.
Although it has no planning permission for redevelopment, auctioneer Phillip Arnold is confident it will meet its goal, the BBC reports.
He described how the neighbouring property was being renovated, with an additional floor added. A further property two doors down has also been given approval to do the same.
The fresh air above 47 Northcote Road (centre) in Battersea, southwest London, is being sold with a guide price of £10,000
The online listing adds: ‘The lot being sold is the airspace above with development potential, subject to obtaining any necessary consent required’
‘You’d like to think there’s a better chance than most with this,’ he said.
The plot is situated a short walk from Clapham Junction railway station, and hovers above two flats and a restaurant space on the ground floor – currently being transformed into a café.
Asked why anyone would bid on thin air, Mr Arnold explained that it was an affordable way to get a foothold in the neighbourhood – where the average flat sells for over £600,000 – and it could be a good investment.
Mr Arnold, an auctioneer of 30 years’ experience, added: ‘London has been through a big period of flat conversions, buy to let. You get phases, and I think this will be one of them and people will just actively look for these things.
‘They’re like buses; it’s the first one I’ve had for ages but about 18 months ago I had nine of them.
‘I think you’re going to see a lot more of them. Sometimes if you’ve got a couple of people bidding the price will go through the roof.’
The online listing adds: ‘The lot being sold is the airspace above with development potential, subject to obtaining any necessary consent required.
‘The freeholder will be providing landlords consent to develop at no additional charge to the purchaser.’
The auction takes place online on 7 December.
In March, multi-million-pound apartments in Battersea Power Station (pictured) and Nine Elms were quietly reduced in price after more than two years on the market
Rightmove listings have revealed a string of listings in Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms have been reduced in price in recent weeks, properties worth millions advertised online showed
Despite the draw of Battersea, not all recent property redevelopments in the area have been a success.
In March, it was reported multi-million-pound apartments in Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms were being quietly reduced in price after up to two years on the market.
Rightmove listings revealed others listed on the market for years without being sold, such as in Nine Elms, which was dubbed ‘Dubai on Thames’.
One four-bed apartment at the St George Wharf development has been on the market at a price of £15million since December 2019.
Another, in the nearby Damac Tower, has been for sale for £12.3million since 2021. Both properties have lavish interiors and panoramic views across London.
When former London Mayor Boris Johnson launched what was named the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea ‘opportunity area’, he described it as ‘the final piece in the jigsaw’ of central London.