Home to Holland Park, Kensington Gardens and several garden squares, W8 is one of the leafiest and most desirable postcodes in central London.  With Kensington Palace, several embassies and a host of exclusive properties in the vicinity, it tends to attract many of the super-rich. Roman Abramovich was reported to have paid £90m for a palatial home on Kensington Palace Gardens, which is said to be Britain’s most expensive street.

Basement flats are hard to come by in W8. There is a high concentration in Lexham Gardens, the east side of which has an award-winning garden square, conveniently located south of the high street, and a short walk through to the very charming Thackeray Street area. Whilst Kensington High Street is known to many as a shopping destination, Kensington Church Street is famous for its specialist antique shops.

Plans to relocate the new £80m Design Museum from its current location in Butlers Wharf to the architectural splendour of the Commonwealth Institute in 2014 have been unveiled. Its aim is to make it ‘the world’s leading museum of contemporary design and architecture’. But this wouldn’t have been possible without the support and investment from a local property developer who plans to create a block of flats that will flank the refurbishment.

In terms of lower ground floor flats in W8, the average price per square foot achieved on sales over the last 12 months (Sept 2012 – Sept 2013) was £919 per sq ft – an increase of 3.84% on the previous year. The average selling price during this period was £1,052,702. With the De Vere Gardens development also expected for completion next year, Kensington is without doubt experiencing considerable cultural and architectural change.