Author: Jessica Jonzen

Where to Buy in London for Outdoor Space

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

From private garden squares and central London terraces to larger family gardens in south-west London, our Partner Philip Eastwood shares his insights into where to look and what to prioritise when buying for outdoor space in the capital

View through Georgian sash windows onto a summer garden in London with wisteria

One of the biggest mistakes buyers can make in London is focusing too much on the things that can be measured. Square footage, bedroom numbers and price per square foot all matter, but they don’t tell the whole story. Some of the qualities that make a property exceptional are much harder to quantify: the aspect of a garden, the outlook from a terrace, if the rooms actually feel usable and whether the outside space enhances the way you live. Those are the things that often separate a good property from a great one.

Outdoor space has always been desirable in London, but it has become an increasingly important part of the buying conversation – particularly since the pandemic. A garden, terrace or balcony is no longer simply an added extra; for many buyers, it has become a key part of the brief. The important thing, though, is that outdoor space must be practical to use and easy to access.

A large garden that is overlooked, poorly positioned or receives no evening sunlight may be less valuable than a smaller space with a south-west facing garden and an attractive outlook. Similarly, a roof terrace might sound desirable, but if it is remotely taxing to reach, it’s likely to go unused – despite the inevitable premium that was paid for it.

What to prioritise when looking for outside space in London

Before the pandemic, outdoor space was often something buyers wanted but would compromise on if everything else about the property was right. Location, period features, ceiling heights and the overall feel of a home would usually come first.

Covid shifted how much value people place on having somewhere to step outside for their wellbeing. If you were living in a one or two-bedroom apartment without a balcony, terrace or garden during lockdown, you suddenly understood the benefit of having even a small amount of outdoor space. I don’t think it completely changed the way people buy property; it simply added a greater premium to good outdoor space because buyers became more aware of its quality – and scarcity.

Buying in London has always been about compromise. If you wrote out a typical wish list for a London apartment, it might include two or three bedrooms, a good location, high ceilings, period features, excellent light, a newly refurbished interior and a roof terrace. The reality is that very few properties offer everything. Budget, location and the architecture of London itself all start taking things off the list.

That is where the hierarchy of needs comes in. Is location more important than a roof terrace? Is a larger garden worth moving further out for? Does a private balcony compensate for being on a busy road? Every buyer will answer those questions differently. The role of a buying agent is understanding which compromises are acceptable and which ones will ultimately affect how much someone enjoys living in the property.

Why usability of outside space matters more than size

I always tell clients that having outdoor space and having good outdoor space are two very different things. Take roof terraces. Many buyers want one, but genuinely good examples are relatively rare in London. Much of the city’s housing stock is Georgian or Victorian when roofs were for chimney pots, not terraces, so creating one is often complicated.

I have a simple test: can you easily carry a bottle of rosé and a glass onto it? If you have to climb three flights of stairs, negotiate a very steep spiral staircase or effectively become a mountain goat to reach it, you probably won’t use it as much as you imagine. If you can open French doors, step outside and sit down with a drink, then you will use it constantly.

The other consideration is safety, particularly for families. A roof terrace might look impressive on a floorplan, but if access is difficult or you are constantly worrying about the children, it becomes less appealing.

Gardens are no different. Buyers naturally focus on size, but aspect and outlook are often just as important. A south-west-facing garden which receives afternoon and evening sun overlooking mature trees or backing on to another garden will almost always be more valuable than a larger garden that is north-facing, overlooked and enclosed by neighbouring walls.

You can have two houses that are almost identical in size, but one has a better garden, better light and a better outlook. Which one is going to command the higher price? The one with the better aspect. I often think of it as the difference between a good painting and a great painting. The fundamentals might be the same, but there is something that elevates one above the other. With property, those less measurable details are often the deciding factor.

Chelsea Square off Chelsea Park Gardens

Where to find properties with outdoor space in central London

If a client tells me they want to remain in central London and have a large garden, the first thing I do is manage expectations. Chelsea, Kensington and Marylebone are not known for substantial private gardens. Marylebone is a good example of how London’s architecture shapes what is possible. These townhouses were built at a time when wealthy families often had vast country estates, so having a large garden (or indeed, any garden) in London was not a priority.

There are, however, areas where prime central London offers something very special. Notting Hill is probably the best example. The attraction is not simply the houses themselves, but the relationship between their private gardens and the neighbourhood’s communal gardens.

Streets such as Elgin Crescent, Lansdowne Crescent and Ladbroke Square offer something quite unusual: a private garden leading directly onto a larger garden shared with your neighbours. It is almost like joining a country club.

For families, that sense of community is incredibly valuable. Children can go through the back gate and play with friends, neighbours naturally get to know each other, and the garden becomes a meaningful extension of family life. That sense of community is one of the reasons Notting Hill consistently performs so strongly.

Not every garden square works in the same way, though. Some are beautiful but quite formal, with lists of rules and regulations. If children cannot ride a bike or kick a football in them, then they become spaces to admire rather than spaces to enjoy.

Chelsea, while never known for large gardens, has seen a resurgence in popularity in pockets  close to Chelsea Square, which is huge and quite wild. A number of the area’s practical 1930s houses on Chelsea Park Gardens have been refurbished to a very high standard, offering generous proportions, better layouts and more family-friendly living than some of the older period properties. Combined with access to garden squares, local amenities and the wider appeal of Chelsea itself, these homes have become increasingly attractive to buyers who want central London without necessarily compromising on practicality.

Best areas in south-west London for family gardens

If buyers want larger gardens, then south-west London naturally becomes more attractive. Areas such as Wandsworth, Fulham, Clapham, Richmond and Wimbledon offer more generous gardens combined with good transport links, excellent schools and strong local amenities.

Wandsworth and Clapham are great examples of how London has changed. Thirty or 40 years ago, many buyers who could afford Chelsea would not necessarily have considered living south of the river. Now Wandsworth and Clapham are some of the most desirable family locations in London.

There, you can have a proper garden, access to Wandsworth and Clapham Commons, and a neighbourhood where you have everything you need. You have cafés, restaurants, independent shops, Waitrose, Gail’s – all the things that create a sense of a village within south-west London.

Buying near London’s parks

For many buyers, being close to a park is just as important as having their own outdoor space. Hyde Park, Holland Park, Regent’s Park and Battersea Park are all popular with clients who want access to green space, whether that is for running, walking or escaping the pace of the city. For apartment buyers especially, living close to a great park can often tick the outdoor space box.

Ultimately, buying in London will always involve compromise. The key is understanding what matters most to you. The best properties are the ones where the fine details work seamlessly – where the outdoor space is genuinely usable, the aspect is right, and it fits the way you want to live. Those are the things that create lasting value, and which we can help you to find.

Philip Eastwood, The Buying Solution, Partner, London

Philip Eastwood is our specialist Partner in Prime Central London

For news, expert commentary and invaluable property insight, subscribe to The Insider, our quarterly newsletter, here.

Selling Your Home in a Crowded Market

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

With the number of properties listed for sale in the UK at a 10-year high, it pays to be a price-sensitive, considerate seller and find opportunities to help your home stand out, Ruth Bloomfield reports for The Telegraph, with insights from our Partner, Katherine Watters

Georgian terrace in Central London, England. Image: Sarah Frances Kelley for The Buying Solution
Sarah Frances Kelley for The Buying Solution

Finding a way to make your property stand out is crucial in the current market, writes Ruth Bloomfield in The Telegraph. While sensitive pricing and immaculate presentation are vitally important factors when there are a surfeit of properties for sale, good will can be another powerful factor, our Partner Katherine Watters shares.

Her favourite example is a £4m Sussex farmhouse that she found and secured for her clients in 2025. It was a sale that came together after the sellers offered to leave their ponies, plus horsebox) for the buyers’ daughters, who had fallen in love with them on the viewing. “While this is a unicorn example, being flexible when it comes to incentives and considering what might make the process smoother can be the difference between a healthy sale and something that falls flat. The market is such that ‘good will’ goes a long way,” says Katherine.

Read the article here.

Political Uncertainty Can Be a Buyer’s Advantage

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

With Andy Burnham tipped for Number 10, property market uncertainty is rising, Maya Wilson Autzen reports in The Telegraph. But as Will Watson, Head of The Buying Solution, shares in the article, for savvy buyers opportunity may be knocking.

With Andy Burnham’s anticipated arrival in Downing Street, the property market is already feeling the effects. The likely new Prime Minister’s long-standing advocacy for a controversial land value tax is raising serious questions about the future of property taxation – and the savviest buyers are taking note.

Will Watson, Head of The Buying Solution, speaks to Maya Wilson Autzen at The Telegraph on the market shifts he’s witnessing firsthand, and how buyers can turn this moment of political uncertainty to their advantage at the negotiating table.

Read the article here.

Is Your Home Tech Spying on You?

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

As more and more of us install smart, connected gadgets in our homes, are we actually making ourselves vulnerable to security breaches from our own home tech, asks David Byers in The Times. Our Partner and Head of the Cotswolds region Harry Gladwin shares his insights.

Small, white wireless security camera sits on a wooden table, actively monitoring a blurred, comfortable living room, ensuring safety and peace of mind

The home tech industry has grown significantly in recent years and is projected to be worth almost $140 billion by 2032, the research firm MarketsandMarkets says, with people buying wifi-connected vacuums, ovens, doorbells, garden lights – and even internet-connected wine coolers, reports David Byers for The Times.

But is an over-reliance on tech the modern equivalent of leaving the front door unlocked? “We are seeing a distinct shift in preference among prime buyers who are increasingly concerned about the digital vulnerabilities of fully automated homes,” Harry Gladwin says in the piece.

Read the article here.

Why are English Villages So Appealing?

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

English villages come into their own in summer, but the desire to live there has year-round draw. Our Partner Katherine Watters explores why the appeal of a village is not simply about nostalgia, but a sense of community, continuity and belonging.

There is an image of England that never quite loses its hold on the imagination, especially during the summer months. Cricket on the green on a balmy afternoon. A fête in full swing complete with tug of war, a dog show and a cake stall stacked with Victoria sponges baked by the locals. Cottages with roses around the door. An ancient church that has been central to the community for generations.

The English village is, on one level, a romantic ideal. And yet it is also a very real and vital part of modern life – not simply as an archetypal symbol of Englishness, but as a place people of all ages and backgrounds continue actively to choose to live.

As a buying agent working across Surrey, Sussex and the wider Home Counties, I spend much of my time driving clients through villages they have never visited before, watching for that almost imperceptible shift in mood when they arrive somewhere that feels right. It is rarely about the house alone. The decisive moment often comes when they spot the cricket green, the pub terrace filling up on a Friday evening, or a queue forming outside the village shop.

“On the edge of a village” is one of the most common requests I hear. Clients generally do not want total isolation in a remote farmhouse at the end of a muddy track. The fantasy – and increasingly, the practical ambition – is a house close enough to walk to the pub, the shop, the church and the community.

After many years acting for buyers, I have come to recognise that when clients say they want village life, they are rarely talking purely about scenery or commute times. What they are searching for is something more consequential: connection, familiarity and being part of a community.

The post-pandemic search for connection

The appetite for village life has only strengthened since the pandemic. According to the Government’s latest Statistical Digest of Rural England, net internal migration continues to favour rural areas, with more people moving from towns and cities into the countryside than the other way around. Meanwhile, according to Nationwide Building Society, house prices in predominantly rural areas rose by 23 per cent between 2019 and 2024, compared with 18 per cent in predominantly urban areas. (nationwide.co.uk) What began as the “race for space” has matured into something more lasting: a search for connection.

Clients rarely describe it in those terms initially. They talk about wanting their children outdoors more, or about needing more space or a better view. Yet those requests often carry an unspoken concern about modern life: the sense that people can feel profoundly lonely while surrounded by millions of others.

I see this particularly among buyers seeking to move out of London. While they may have lived in the capital for years, they feel the transitional nature of city living prevents them from putting down roots properly. Increasingly, they are looking for what villages still offer remarkably well: interdependence.

One family I am advising is moving with an elderly mother who has lived an extremely social life in London and is understandably anxious about leaving it behind. Their brief is not simply about square footage or proximity to a station. They want a village where she can integrate quickly; somewhere with a church community, local groups and enough activity to make day-to-day life feel engaging and interesting. 

This desire for both connection and ‘buzz’ spans generations. Young families are drawn by toddler groups, village schools and the chance for their children to grow up as part of a small community. Downsizers increasingly see villages as a form of future-proofing: places where they can walk to amenities, remain socially active and rely on local support networks if driving eventually becomes difficult.

The infrastructure of belonging

The best villages function almost like miniature ecosystems. The village shop is no longer merely somewhere to buy milk. Increasingly, it has become a deli, café and informal social club rolled into one.

Having been used to the convenience of the city, clients moving from London often fear a sense of being “cut off” when they move to the country. They yearn for a focal point. During a client orientation tour, I always make a point to take them to a village coffee shop to assuage these fears and more often than not, I see a smile of relief cross their faces as they recognise the sense of a like-minded community. One client laughed in delight when she discovered her former favourite barista from London now co-owned the local village café we stopped at. Suffice to say, they went on to buy in that village.

On another client tour, we stopped at a village shop in Dunsfold, south-west Surrey. Behind the till was an old school friend of mine who volunteers there now her children have grown up. “I wanted to give something back to the community,” she told me. That spirit of participation rather than passive consumption is exactly what many buyers are searching for.

The village pub occupies a similar emotional territory. The best rural pubs understand they cannot survive purely as polished gastronomic destinations. They still want muddy dogs under tables, farmers nursing pints at the bar and regulars dropping in for a pie and a catch-up with friends over a glass of wine.

UK, Hertfordshire, Perry Green, close up of Bunting hanging in front of outdoor celebrations in a field

The perennial charm of the village fête

There is a nostalgic element to all this. Villages embody a version of England many people fear is disappearing, yet the local fête remains one of the clearest expressions of communal life in modern Britain.

I often encourage nervous London buyers to visit a village during its fête weekend if they want to understand what life there could actually feel like. You see everything in a single afternoon: the volunteers, the children tearing across the green, the retirees pouring tea and the committee members trying to organise the raffle.

Not only are fêtes charming, they are also remarkably democratic occasions. One of the things clients often find most refreshing is the levelling effect of village life. At a fête, a highly successful businessman may be hammering tent pegs into the ground alongside a local builder or teacher. Everyone contributes, which is key.

Villages do not simply “happen”. Their appeal relies on people willing to organise, volunteer and participate. In fact, many long-standing residents welcome newcomers precisely because they bring fresh energy. The stereotype of rural suspicion towards outsiders is often overstated. In reality, villages benefit enormously from people willing to coach football teams, listen to local school children read, run plant stalls or join parish committees.

Why village schools are becoming more attractive

Schools remain another powerful draw. Many buyers moving from London initially assume they will continue down the private-school route, but that is beginning to shift. The combination of rising fees and VAT changes has prompted many families to reconsider local state education.

Some village schools that once operated mixed-age classes now run full single-year intakes because demand has grown so dramatically. Parents value the intimacy of smaller schools and the way they embed families into local life almost immediately.

Community as a modern luxury

The appeal of village living also reflects wider social anxieties. Britain has become more digitally connected yet, in many ways, less communal. Hybrid working means many professionals spend long stretches of time alone at home.

Villages, by contrast, still create natural points of contact. There are opportunities to bump into a neighbour while out dog walking. There are WhatsApp groups organising lifts to hospital appointments for elderly residents. Volunteer drivers take neighbours to GP surgeries. Rambling clubs gather at cafés after walks. Church halls host everything from yoga classes to children’s parties. These details may sound quaint, but they are increasingly valuable in a fragmented society.

Seeing village life at its most authentic

As buying agents, our role extends well beyond property. A beautiful house in the wrong village will rarely make a client happy long-term. Understanding whether a community is sociable and intergenerational matters just as much as understanding square footage and commute times.

In an age when so much of modern life can feel transient and anonymous, the English village still offers the reassuring possibility that people might genuinely know – and look after – one another.

Woman in blue suit jacket with long brown hair looking at camera

Katherine Watters is our specialist Partner in the Southern Home Counties

Harry Gladwin tops FT list of Cotswolds Specialists

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

With series two of Rivals shining the spotlight on the Cotswolds once again, Lucy Clayton reports for the Financial Times on the region’s specialist agents to know when buying a home here. Our Partner and Head of the Cotswolds Harry Gladwin is one of them.

Cotswold cottage in the popular tourist destination of Bibury, Gloucestershire, England.

The Cotswolds remains one of England’s most coveted regions, drawing international buyers and fierce local competition in equal measure. As a result, Lucy Clayton writes in the Financial Times, buying here has become “a complex dance.”

With the most sought-after properties off-market and unsold for generations, the right buying agent isn’t a luxury – it’s essential. “Access is only guaranteed by an extraordinary reputation for trust and discretion – with or without an NDA,” says our Partner Harry Gladwin, as the FT collates the Who’s Who of the Cotswold’s finest specialist agents.

Read the article here.

Would You Move to Pay for Private School Fees?

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

To pay for private school fees, growing numbers of families are rethinking where they live rather than compromise on their children’s education, reports Alexandra Goss in The Telegraph. It’s a trend that our Cotswolds buying agent Georgina Neil is seeing first hand, as she highlights in the article.

Sarah Frances Kelley Cotswold manor house The Buying Solution
Sarah Frances Kelley for The Buying Solution

Rising school fees, following the addition of VAT, are redefining property decisions – especially above £1.2m, reports Alexandra Goss in The Telegraph.

“The dream is over for many ‘upsizers’ as school fees and the cost of running these homes – and the transactional costs of buying them in the first place – have become prohibitive for many,” our Cotswolds buying agent Georgina Neil comments in the article.

Read the article in full here.

The New Priorities Driving Relocating Families to the Home Counties

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

For internationally mobile families, education and lifestyle are driving relocation decisions more than ever. Demand for top-tier schools, combined with privacy, space and security, is putting the Home Counties firmly in focus.

Recent global events have brought a new seriousness to the relocation conversation. What were once lifestyle-led considerations – schooling, security and space – are now sitting firmly at the top of the priority list, and everything else is being filtered through them.

Decisions are no longer being made lightly, or purely aspirationally, but with a far greater emphasis on what day-to-day life will actually look like once the move is made. One of our Partners recently visited a house whose owners had everything in motion to relocate to Dubai, before global tensions prompted them to abruptly pull on the brakes. That crystallised the shift. When you are talking about moving children internationally, even to places that might once have felt like an obvious upgrade, the fundamentals come into very sharp relief.

Security, schooling, health and stability are now the most pressing questions, not the afterthoughts. We are often asked what we are seeing in the market for relocating families, and because we are constantly speaking to agents, applicants and buyers across the sector, you develop a very clear read on sentiment rather than simply tracking numbers.

Right now, that sentiment is measured. There is no frenzy, no pandemic-style urgency, but there is steady, considered movement. Our client base often includes families moving out of London and those returning or relocating from overseas, often prompted by a reassessment of priorities in uncertain times. It is not a boom market, but it is an active one, and it carries a very particular tone.

In that mindset, even the most traditional of settings – a vicarage in a pretty English village, a house set within an established market town – can suddenly feel newly relevant and reassuring.

Security: reassurance in different forms

Security comes up in almost every conversation, but rarely in the same way twice. There are clients for whom it is entirely practical and visible. They want cameras, alarm systems, secure perimeters all in place from day one. For them, security is paramount and provides the peace of mind they crave.

Then there is another group, often relocating from places such as the US or South Africa, who are moving away from environments where security is highly visible. For them, the appeal of the Home Counties is almost the opposite: it feels calm, established and understated. A prime residential road in a buzzy market town or a well-established village community are often seen as inherently reassuring, without needing to be fortified.

Against a backdrop of broader uncertainty elsewhere – whether environmental, political or insurance-related – the UK begins to feel comparatively stable and attractive.

Schooling: the anchor decision

If security sets the tone, schooling sets the geography. For many families, it is the starting point of the entire search.

The briefs are often highly specific. Some want walkability; with a station, café and school all within reach. Others are comfortable with a 15–20 minute drive to secure space and countryside. Others still prioritise privacy above all else, letting the school determine the radius of their search.

International schools remain important for globally mobile families seeking continuity and institutions such as ACS International Schools continue to play a key role in that space. But what has changed is permanence. More families are no longer here for a short posting; they are settling.

As a result, engagement with the UK independent sector is shifting, with schools such as Eton College, Bradfield College, St Andrew’s and Lambrook in Berkshire; Charterhouse in Surrey, Shiplake College in Oxfordshire, and Godstowe and Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire increasingly forming part of a longer-term life plan, rather than a transitional arrangement.  Even international schools are now focusing on local, long-term students, as that transitional world has changed.

The home, school and office triangle

At the centre of almost every relocation is the triangulation of home, school and office. Each carries equal weight. One pays the bills; one educates the children, and one is where family life comes together. The challenge is that they rarely align neatly.

A beautiful house in a rural setting may stretch the school run. A perfect school catchment may complicate access to London. A fast commute may come at the expense of space and lifestyle.

People often underestimate how these elements interact in real life. Door-to-desk commuting, school runs, train timetables, return journeys all compounds for better or worse. Much of our role in the Home Counties is helping clients to see not just the property, but what their life there would really look and feel like.

Space, nature and what “enough” looks like

There is also an emotional layer that runs through almost every search. Clients often talk about wanting their children to be “in nature”. Though slightly intangible, it is a very real driver. Green space, gardens and countryside access are consistently part of the brief.

The Home Counties offer this in abundance, but it is important to understand what that lifestyle actually means day to day. More rural living often means more driving. School friends live in different directions and daily logistics become more complex. Larger homes, pools, tennis courts, annexes and staff can all add lifestyle value but also cost and maintenance.

A large part of the process is helping clients separate what feels aspirational from what will genuinely improve everyday life.

Renting, buying and the shift towards commitment

Traditionally, renting has been the first step for many relocating families. In theory, it allows people to explore and experience areas before committing. In practice, outside London, the reality is very different.

The rental pool in the Home Counties is limited at the best of times. Once you factor in school catchments and specific location requirements, it becomes even narrower.

What often happens is compromise: families take what is available, rather than what is right. They then build a life with schools, routines and networks only to realise they would prefer a different base when they come to buy.

As a result, more clients are choosing to purchase earlier and get it right first time. It is more decisive, but often more aligned with long-term happiness.

Ultimately, the most successful relocations are those where clients acknowledge early on what they are leaving behind and are then far better placed to recognise what they stand to gain. When that balance is right, the move stops being purely practical and becomes something more positive and joyful.

For news, expert commentary and invaluable property insight, subscribe to The Insider, our quarterly newsletter, here.

Security and the New London Property Brief

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

As crime headlines reshape perceptions of life in the capital, security has become an integral part of the property brief for buyers in prime central London. Yet the most effective safeguard is not technology or patrols, but discretion – both online and at home, writes our Partner and London specialist Philip Eastwood.

Sarah Frances Kelley for The Buying Solution

For much of the past two decades, the brief given to a prime central London buying agent has been reassuringly familiar: lateral space, period architecture, a garden square address, perhaps proximity to the best schools. Security, when mentioned at all, tended to mean little more than a functioning alarm system and a sturdy front door.

Today, that brief has evolved. Increasingly, security – and perhaps, more accurately, the perception of security – forms part of the conversation when clients consider purchasing property in the capital.

The reality, however, is more nuanced than the headlines might suggest. According to new analysis from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), many forms of crime in London are falling. In the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, residential burglary fell by 10 per cent compared with the same period the previous year, while theft from the person and personal robbery both declined by 13 per cent. These reductions follow increased investment in visible neighbourhood policing, including a significant uplift in officers on the beat in the West End and new town centre teams focused on tackling phone theft, shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.

Yet statistics rarely shape perceptions as powerfully as stories do. In an age of constant news alerts and social media feeds, a single incident can travel quickly through friendship circles and WhatsApp groups. Before long, everyone seems to know someone – or knows someone who knows someone – who has had a phone snatched or a watch stolen. The result is that security has begun to feature more prominently in property discussions, even as the broader data paints a more reassuring picture.

The Rise of the Discreet Street Patrol

One of the more visible developments can be seen in parts of Kensington and Chelsea, where residents of certain streets have collectively arranged private security. Typically, a security guard sits in a marked car overnight, occasionally walking residents from a taxi to their front door, keeping an eye on the street and acting as a visible presence and possible deterrent. Some patrols circulate periodically, sometimes with dogs, providing reassurance and peace of mind rather than enforcement. The effect is closer to the traditional “bobby on the beat” than to anything resembling private policing.

Fifteen years ago, such arrangements were uncommon. Today, they are increasingly familiar in prime neighbourhoods and in some cases, they are linked to large estates. Addresses on the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair and Belgravia, for instance, benefit from long-established porterage and security systems – part of the discreet infrastructure that has historically made certain London squares particularly desirable.

Portable Wealth in a Digital Age

Part of the shift in how people think about security reflects something fundamental about how we now live. Twenty years ago, most people moved through London carrying relatively little of obvious value. A watch was simply a watch; a handbag was simply a handbag. Even if something was stolen, it was not always easy to sell on, nor was its value necessarily understood by the thief.

Today, however, we move through the city carrying what might reasonably be described as ‘portable assets’ as a matter of course: smartphones worth more than a month’s rent, watches whose resale values can exceed those of a car, handbags that prestigious auction houses now treat as investment categories.

The secondary market has expanded dramatically. Where once stolen goods required a discreet “fence” to sell them on, today a host of online platforms provide an immediate and global marketplace for resale. The economics of crime have changed.

At the same time, our digital habits have created an entirely new layer of exposure. Social media has normalised the public display of wardrobes, jewellery collections and travel plans to a global audience. From a security perspective, it is rather remarkable.

Announcing a two-week holiday on Instagram is, in effect, the modern equivalent of placing an advertisement that reads: Our house will be empty until the 14th. Posting photographs of newly acquired luxury items performs a similar function. With modest effort, someone inclined to do so can identify where photographs were taken, determine neighbourhoods and piece together patterns of movement.

For high-net-worth individuals in particular, managing one’s digital footprint has therefore become an increasingly important element of personal security. In many cases, it matters more than cameras or alarm systems. Discretion, therefore, remains the most effective safeguard of all.

Technology is No Silver Bullet

Clients may ask whether technology can offer a definitive answer. Smart doorbells, integrated alarm systems, remote monitoring, camera networks – the modern home can certainly be equipped with formidable security infrastructure. Many properties in prime London now include these features as standard.

Yet there is no technological silver bullet. Cameras may deter some criminals but are likely to just send determined ones next door. Alarm systems can reduce risk, but they do not eliminate it. Even the most sophisticated digital systems carry their own vulnerabilities. What’s to say they won’t be hacked? Security, ultimately, needs a layered approach, rather than a single solution.

Discreet Measures

The most effective measures tend to be the least visible. A well-positioned safe. A cautious approach to exterior lighting to prevent advertising the superior finish or interior of the house. Careful vetting of contractors and staff, and sensible habits around the display – both real and digital – of valuables.

Sometimes it is as simple as having two safes rather than one, a precaution adopted in certain households in case of forced entry. More extreme measures do exist, of course. Panic rooms, private bodyguards and other forms of high-end protection are certainly present in London. But they remain the exception rather than the rule, and when they are used, they are handled with the utmost discretion. Indeed, the defining characteristic of those who invest seriously in security is that they rarely talk about it.

A City That Remains Remarkably Liveable

None of this should be mistaken for alarmism. London today is, in many respects, far safer than it was in previous decades. Areas once considered marginal or even dangerous have become some of the city’s most desirable addresses – Notting Hill is a case in point. Neighbourhoods that would once have raised eyebrows now command extraordinary property prices.

Crime has always existed in large cities. What has changed is the way it is reported, discussed and perceived. We now live in an era of continuous information. Every incident, however small, can appear instantly on a news feed. The effect is cumulative: a sense that problems are everywhere, even when the broader picture is more reassuring.

A salient lesson for how quickly perceptions of safety can shift can be learned from Dubai. For years the emirate was held up by many international buyers as the ultimate safe haven: low crime, strong policing and a lifestyle where valuables could be worn or left in plain sight without concern. Some London residents even relocated there in search of precisely that sense of security.

Yet recent geopolitical tensions in the wider region have served as a terrible reminder that no global city exists entirely in isolation from risk. For internationally mobile families, it has reinforced a broader truth: safety is rarely absolute. Rather, it is a question of perception, context and prudent personal judgement – whether in London, Dubai or anywhere else.

The First Rule of Security

For property buyers navigating this environment, the advice is surprisingly simple. Choose a well-run building or a well-organised street. Invest in sensible security measures. Be thoughtful and careful about digital exposure. Above all, practise discretion.

The most effective form of security is rarely the most visible. It is the firm decision not to advertise what one owns, where one lives or when one is away. In prime London property, that principle has become part of the modern brief. And, in truth, it always was.

Philip Eastwood, The Buying Solution, Partner, London

Philip Eastwood is our Partner in London

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Britons Fleeing Dubai for London Rentals

Posted on by Jessica Jonzen

Britons who settled in Dubai attracted by its perceived safety are contacting luxury property agents to arrange emergency £5,000-a-week rentals in London, writes David Byers in The Times. Will Watson, Head of The Buying Solution, shares his insights.

Large pink blossom tree next to white period houses in London's Notting Hill

As property agents report at 15% increase in enquiries from the UAE, Britons who relocated to Dubai are anxious to return to the UK, reports David Byers in The Times. Will Watson, Head of The Buying Solution, and currently acting on behalf of three Dubai-based clients, offers his observations.

Read the article here.