Fashionable Notting Hill is top address for Hollywood stars

Immortalised in the film Notting Hill starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, LA production companies look for high-end lets in the fashionable neighbourhood for their actors and directors to stay in the best addresses in W11 during filming.

Lucinda Richardson, lettings director of Winkworth Notting Hill, reveals on the latest Winkworth Property Exchange podcast that famous faces are a regular sight around the area, whether browsing in Portobello Market or enjoying a coffee on Westbourne Grove.

Lucinda, who has worked in Notting Hill for the past 30 years, told the podcast: “In the past few years, we’ve seen a strong increase in demand from film production companies from LA looking for homes for their cast and crew during filming at the big studios around London.  We can’t name them but we have rented to all sorts of very exciting people.

“The homes tend to belong to clients with second homes in the country, who are reaching a different chapter in their lives and aren’t using their London homes so much. They will rent it out on a shorter term let, for three to five months. The properties are earning them income but they are not giving up their London home long term – so they can find out how much they miss it.”

Rents tend to start at around £5,000 a week and the most popular spots are addresses such as Westbourne Grove, Elgin Crescent and other squares where the houses have private gardens and direct access to communal gardens.

Lucinda said: “The condition of a house is vital. There is huge demand for beautifully finished homes. It needs to be immaculate. As well as film companies, we attract an international market for lettings, with Americans, Europeans as well as UK-based people, many of whom may have lived in the area 10 years ago and are returning. It’s an amazing place to live and work. Over the past two years, the rental market has been extraordinary but it does seems to be calming down.  However, demand is always there, from studio apartments to the larger houses. More property is becoming available to boost supply, either through people getting priced out and having to move on or properties that weren’t selling so owners will decide to let for 6 to 12 months.”

The rental market may be stabilising but the sales market has roared into life in the first few weeks of the year, according to Dominic Agace, Chief Executive of Winkworth. He told the podcast: “We have seen a 30 per cent increase in applicants registering since the beginning of the year.  Employment is holding and wages are increasing. We’re optimistic for 2024.

“The big six lenders are reducing rates - 3.5%/-4.5% is a huge difference to the 6/7% increases last August. There has been huge growth in rents in the past two years. That’s abated now. Affordability ceilings have been hit. Our lettings applications at the start of the year are two per cent down on last year.”

He added that a General Election would be a positive move: “The new government will push on and that will be good for the property market. The general picture is encouraging whoever gets in.”