Residents in one of London‘s most exclusive neighbourhoods say their properties are ‘unsellable’ and are fleeing the area due to Labour’s tax raids and out of control crime with ‘mugging gangs’ and Rolex rippers roaming the streets unchecked.
Multi-million pound mansions and townhouses on the wide leafy lanes of Knightsbridge and Kensington have fallen in value and are at the lowest levels for 15 years.
Since 2018, house prices in Knightsbridge alone have dropped by over a million pounds, costing on average just £2.6 million today.
It comes as a shocking murder saw a 24-year-old man stabbed to death by a masked outside a Knightsbridge casino on Wednesday. Witnesses initially claimed the attacker tried to steal his rolex watch but police are now pursuing several lines of enquiry.
Blue Stevens died after being knifed outside the £1,650-a-night 5-star Park Tower Hotel and Casino, which is directly across the road from the famous department store in central London. His killer is still at large.
Locals say it is the latest in a series of serious crimes to plague what is one of the richest and most exclusive parts of the capital and told MailOnline that petty and violent crime are now just a daily part of their lives.
Many businesses in the area have been ram-raided in the past- a process where a van is used as a battering ram to gain entrance to a closed building.
In 2017, terrified residents filmed as Louis Vitton’s flagship store on Sloane Square was attacked in this manner, with a gang of bandits making off with thousands of pounds worth of merchandise.
Members of the public are often targeted, and while killings like Wednesday are still not as common as in other parts of the capital, things can quickly turn violent.
In West London, the wide open streets and looming luxury mansions are hiding a problem: they’re unsellable
Multi-million pound mansions and townhouses on the wide leafy lanes of Knightsbridge and Kensington have fallen in value and are at the lowest levels for 15 years
Residents say Labour tax raids and out of control crime are to blame
This week Blue Stevens, 26, died after being knifed outside the £1,650-a-night 5-star Park Tower Hotel and Casino in Knightsbridge
The murder scene outside the Park Tower Casino in London’s Knightsbridge on Thursday morning
In 2021, just yards from Britain’s most expensive postcode of Hyde Park Square, a gang tasered two men in order to steal their watches.
Due to the area’s huge roads, phone snatching is an everyday occurrence in the area, with most people knowing someone who has been targeted.
Indeed, the royal borough’s reputation has slipped so far that wealthy overseas buyers are now desperate to cut ties with the area and interest in properties has plummeted.
Many say they are also fleeing from Labour’s raid on the rich, with an expected ‘wealth tax’ in the Autumn budget, plus the stamp duty rise.
Landlords and property investors have also said they have been clobbered by Labour and no longer see Knightsbridge and Kensington as desired locations.
Average prices in Knightsbridge have fallen to £1,903 per sq ft, according to Savills.
It marks the lowest level since December 2010, when mansions changed hands at an average of £1,836 per sq ft.
The exclusive area once boasted prices of £2,212 per square foot and locals fear those days are now long gone.
Brand manager Ian Perkins said his four-bedroom Knightsbridge property had fallen from £3 million to £2.6 million when recently valued.
The 56-year-old believed a combination of factors were to blame.
In 2021, just yards from Britain’s most expensive postcode of Hyde Park Square, a gang tasered two men
The two men were targeted for their luxury Rolex watches – a common theme
He said: ‘Knightsbridge has certainly lost its edge.
‘The awful murder on Wednesday night shows how bad crime is. I don’t walk with my phone out. There are mugging gangs everywhere. It’s horrible.
‘I don’t feel safe and when my family visits I tell them not to go out alone. We go in groups. I have not seen a patrolling police officer for ten years.’
Mr Perkins said Labour’s ‘war on the wealthy’ was also to blame. He said: ‘Anyone trying to create wealth and get on in life is punished.
‘There’s no point. The postcode does not mean what it used to mean. It’s just empty. The wealth have been driven out of friend. A neighbour of mine bought a house for £3 million five years ago.
‘It’s a terrace with two bedrooms. It’s gone down to £2.5 million since then. So he’s lost a fortune. He’s gone out in the country and got a five-bedroom home with land and a pool.
‘Who can blame him? Other people will take the same attitude and leave London and even Britain totally. It’s a war on the wealthy and those that want to do well.’
Nathalie Rousset, 57, has lived in Kensington for 50 years, and said seen a reduction in the price of her flat.
She also said many homeowners were fleeing and new builds stood empty.
The language teacher said: ‘It’s very empty around here. There’s a new block of flats down the road and only one third are full. In my block, there’s eight flats and only three are full.
‘It’s shocking. They clearly can’t sell properties here. The value of mine has most certainly gone down. The European community has turned its back on London and Britain. I blame Brexit and also Covid.
‘There’s little confidence here. Something has shifted.’
Phone muggings by bike gangs like this one in Knightsbridge are common
Residents in the leafy West London lanes say they are plagued by crime and antisocial behavior
Shanai Bogle, property manager at Thackerays estate agents in Kensington, said the market was the toughest it had been for decades
Shanai Bogle, property manager at Thackerays estate agents in Kensington, said the market was the toughest it had been for decades.
She said: ‘The market has declined, house prices here are certainly down. What owners can charge for rent is being limited so owners are selling up and don’t want to buy here.
‘A lot of homes are owned by people overseas, often by companies. They are finding it difficult so are leaving.
‘When homes are selling, more often than not, it’s below market value. It’s below the asking price. That’s virtually unheard of around here.
‘It’s a bad situation. A three-bedroom flat here is around £2.8 million, down on what it used to be.
‘You can get a six-bedroom mansion in Essex for that. That’s one of the reasons.
‘It’s the market in general. There’s no confidence.’
Rod Gilchrist, 79, has lived in Kensington for 40 years and said the house price fall was down to a combination of the Labour government and local crime issues.
He said: ‘If this government set out to sabotage the economy they’ve done a good job. Wealth creators are leaving the city.
A woman’s phone is snatched from her hand next to the Oxford Circus junction in London
‘Everything started with Brexit. A lot of wealthy people left the country and that had an adverse impact on the economy.’
Mr Gilchrist highlighted the case of TV presenter Selina Scott being left traumatised at being attacked and robbed in London last month.
The former ITV news anchor, 74, bravely fought back but was left ‘shattered’ by the incident.
Mr Gilchrist added: ‘That was Piccadilly, it’s the same situation. She said she could not find a police officer.
‘We never see a police officer around here. Crime is a worry. I was in a Vodafone store recently and the guy in there had to lock us in.
‘He said people come in and storm stores and rob them of the phones so they now lock customers in.
‘It is shocking.’
Selina Scott (pictured), 74, was leaving a branch of Waterstones when she was viciously attacked and robbed by an organised gang
The bus stop next to Waterstones Piccadilly Caption where Ms Scott was attacked and robbed
Homeowner Anthony Rifaldi, 35, said he had seen a decrease in his property price in Knightsbridge
Homeowner Anthony Rifaldi, 35, said he had seen a decrease in his property price in Knightsbridge.
He said: ‘I moved a couple of years ago and thought I’d won the lottery with the postcode. Now I’m not so sure. It’s lost the edge and the impact I think it used to have.’
Tony Jenkins, 60, has lived in Knightsbridge for six years and said, as a renter, he had seen rent increase but house prices decrease.
He said: ‘It does not make sense. My rent keeps going up but the house prices are going down.
‘People are not in love with Knightsbridge as they once were.’
Shop worker Jeanette Loxley, 56, said crime was a ‘big issue’.
She said: ‘I’ve seen two phone robberies here in Knightsbridge in the last month. I’ve heard of another mugging and a stabbing a few weeks ago.
‘You think it’s like the best place in the world but it’s not. Crime is an issue, absolutely.’
