City and Fringes area guide

Summary:

The City of London is a small area within Greater London. It is the historic core of London around which, along with Westminster, the modern conurbation grew. The City's boundaries have remained almost constant since the Middle Ages, and hence it is now only a tiny part of the much larger London metropolis. It is often referred to as the City or as the Square Mile, because it is almost exactly one square mile in area. Within Europe's financial heartland, flat sales tend to be rare and usually only occur between merchant bankers, or investors. The market is governed by the economical health of the City. EC2 can be split into three areas: the City, the area north of Broadgate/Liverpool Street and the Barbican. The area can still be regarded as primarily commercial, (with tall glass fronted buildings on every side, shops and bars that bustle with workers nine-to-five, yet lie deserted at the weekend. However, in reality, over the past decade, the city has undergone a renaissance in its role as a residential borough.

Properties:

Office blocks and warehouses have been converted into smart new apartments. Homes are reappearing among the offices and on the fringes, including: Hoxton, Shoreditch, Holborn and Fleet Street. The Barbican complex has 2000 modern flats and a few houses, which have become quite cool. Their success can be measured by the fact that only 10% of the flats are now being rented from the City Corporation (the rest are now leaseholds) and they were also granted Grade II listed status in 2001. In Spitalfields and Smithfield there are company flats, a few ex-council homes and a range of new flats and conversions, although, period homes are rare in these areas. Prices are often quoted in pounds per square foot in the City.

Buyers:

In comparison to the West End, prices can often be better value here. Buyers include busy city workers, who are eager to avoid the hassle of a long commute. Hoxton and Shoreditch have become very fashionable in recent years, attracting many young creatives and professionals.

Sales Information:

The table below details the most recent sales information for this area, broken down by postcode, property type and average sale value.

Postcode	Detached	Semi-Det	Terraced	Flat / Mais	Total / Average
E1	- -	- -	10 sales £446,300	166 sales £331,422	176 sales £337,949
N1	- -	8 sales £915,124	55 sales £872,206	213 sales £394,228	276 sales £504,576
EC1A	- -	- -	- -	3 sales £462,166	3 sales £462,166
EC1M	- -	- -	- -	11 sales £453,181	11 sales £453,181
EC1N	- -	- -	- -	9 sales £478,305	9 sales £478,305
EC1R	- -	- -	9 sales £643,444	17 sales £476,925	26 sales £534,566
EC1V	- -	- -	3 sales £492,333	33 sales £425,739	36 sales £431,289
EC1Y	- -	- -	- -	12 sales £505,666	12 sales £505,666

Source acknowledgement: Information produced by Land Registry. © Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of Land Registry. This material was last updated on 11th Feb 2010. It covers the period from Oct 2009 to Dec 2009. Restricted Use. Users of this product must not copy, distribute, sell or publish any of the Crown copyright material without the formal permission of Land Registry. If you think any of the above information is incorrect please click here to notify the Land Registry.