10 QUESTIONS WITH CLAIRE REYNOLDS, HEAD OF SAVILLS MAYFAIR & CO-HEAD OF PCL
Claire Reynolds, head of Savills Mayfair and co-head of prime central London discusses the Mayfair property market and what’s in store for property in 2022.
1.) Good morning Claire, and welcome to The Mayfair Musings. Please tell us a little bit about your career to date and how you came to head up Savills Mayfair office.
Thank you for having me! My passion for property started when I was a young girl and I would often make my dream home out of Lego or spend time flicking through the glossy property magazines. Fast forward a few years and after two summers spent doing work experience at Savills in between my university studies, I started my full time career with the company in 2005. I began working in residential sales in the Esher office, where I spent five years learning the industry and specialising in the prime commuter belt.
In 2010 I moved to join the Mayfair office with the remit of increasing our market share in Mayfair and building a business in Marylebone. Three years later, I was appointed to launch and head up the Marylebone office which has now been the number one agent for sold market share of flats, houses and new developments across Marylebone and Fitzrovia for five consecutive years.
I have since returned to Mayfair and became head of office in 2020, In addition I am also co-head of our prime central London (residential) region, overseeing the Marylebone, Mayfair, Westminster, St John’s Wood, Maida Vale, Hampstead and Primrose Hill offices.
2.) What does a day at work look like for you? I can only assume that not every day is the same!
My role is a hybrid of both my position as head of office and co-head of prime central London. A large proportion of my time is spent taking on new instructions, communicating and building relationships with clients and buyers, paired with managing the sales team and further growing the Mayfair sales business. The other part of my role is dedicated to the regional management which enables me to use my business degree from an operational perspective and gives me further expertise across the wider central London market. I am also on Savills UK Residential Operations Board and additionally I work closely with Savills marketing and PR teams.
3.) What do you think sets Mayfair apart from other areas of the capital and why does it appeal to so many international buyers?
The quality of the lifestyle that Mayfair offers is second to none. Home to some of the capital’s golden postcodes, it’s long been an area favoured amongst high end discerning buyers. Whether they’re seeking a one bedroom flat, a new build apartment, one of the capital’s traditional mews houses or a significant London town house, Mayfair has it all - not to mention that properties here are some of the highest calibre in the world. With new developments and branded residences such as Twenty Grosvenor Square coming to Mayfair, buyers at the top end of the market can now also pair their homes with the benefits of world class hotels with porters and 24 hour security, as well as facilities such as pools, gyms, cinemas and private dining rooms.
While the properties on offer here are some of the very best in London, it’s also Mayfair’s restaurants, local lifestyle and retail offering, world class universities nearby and connectivity to the rest of the capital that draws in buyers from overseas. Plus, living here you are also just a stone’s throw from Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park.
4.) What property types are currently most sought after in Mayfair and do you think this is likely to change as we move throughout the year?
The type of home that buyers seek depends greatly on whether it will be used as a permanent home or a base in the city. Flats make great pied-a-terre’s and typically come with a concierge, thus offering a ‘lock up and leave’ option so buyers have peace of mind while they are away. While we have seen some strong activity in this particular segment of the market over last 12 months, it’s been more dominated by UK based buyers than we would typically see due to travel restrictions over this period.
I’d expect to see an increased interest in some of the area’s larger homes as international travel restrictions continue to lift, with mews houses and townhouses coming into their own once again. Offering up to 20,000 sq ft of space, Mayfair’s trophy townhouses are some of the best in London and are ideal for both family living and entertaining, with fabulous room proportions, world class leisure facilities, a lift, parking and private outside space.
The hustle and bustle is most definitely back in London and many of our clients based overseas are now coming back into London to purchase a home.
5.) Do you think that the pandemic has changed buyer priorities?
Absolutely! Buyers want more self-sufficiency from their homes than ever before and now ideally want access to their own outside space as well as exceptional finishes and facilities, whether that means a pool, gym or multifunctional living space. The working from home requirement is also here to stay to varying degrees, meaning a good sized property with flexibility will remain part of buyers’ search criteria, and will continue to be a driving factor in the market as buyers seek larger homes.
6.) The global market for branded residences is continuing to expand, how do you think this will impact the market in Mayfair?
The branded residences that we have seen here in Mayfair offer buyers an extraordinary level of lifestyle that I expect will continue to go from strength to strength. Everything we have seen in terms of buying activity suggests that this way of living will continue to be increasingly desirable among buyers at the top end of the market. Although these properties can command as much as a 30% premium against similarly sized local properties, there has been significant interest from buyers prepared to pay this premium for the amenities and lifestyle benefits that come with a branded residence. That said, we also deal with many buyers who don’t require or have a need for these kind of services and instead may prefer to buy a flat in a period mansion block or a traditional townhouse for example, and with a significantly lower service charge.
7.) Are there any areas that you cover that you think will come into their own this year? I saw that last year you had some great success stories in Connaught Village.
We’ve had great success in Connaught Village over the last year in particular with the sale of three townhouses – one setting a new record price. It’s always been a popular, but perhaps ‘under the radar’, place to live in central London – it has a real sense of community, attractive properties, with the green space of Hyde Park nearby and a charming retail offering, while also being so close to Mayfair, Marylebone and the West End. For these reasons, I’d expect interest to remain in this enclave, especially among buyers wanting to settle long term as it really does offer such variety in terms of its local lifestyle. Many of the clients we sell for here have been in their homes for 20 years, which is a real testament to the popularity of the area amongst residents who know and love it.
Neighbouring locations such as Bayswater have a similar appeal and are now coming under the global spotlight, especially with its regeneration and the two new place-making developments, The Whiteley and Park Modern. We expect this anticipated price growth will filter into Connaught Village.
8.) How can you help those with very specific property requirements?
Nowadays, we are finding that buyers are becoming less location specific and instead are more focused on what a property has to offer rather than whether it has an internationally recognised postcode. My role as co-head of PCL means I have a detailed overview of the various neighbourhoods that fall within the seven offices I oversee. Often I will work with clients or buyers and introduce them to a new part of London they might not have previously considered but which has the types of property and lifestyle they are seeking. It’s always incredibly rewarding to see someone happily settled in a new area, knowing that you have helped guide them towards it. In fact, only recently the Marylebone team and I worked on the sale of a significant home in the area. The sellers wanted to downsize but stay within close proximity of the West End, and subsequently bought a flat off market through our St Johns Wood office which was an area they hadn’t previously considered.
9.) Are there any trends that you are noticing or predict for 2022?
The top end of the market is as strong as we’ve ever seen it – 2021 was a record year for the £5 million-plus market and fuelled largely by UK based buyers seeking larger family homes with more outside space.
While demand is currently outweighing supply, the value that is on offer in the London property market will help drive growth in the capital. It also remains clear that people want to invest in London property and enjoy the lifestyle that London living offers, and Mayfair is very much one of the sought-after central London locations. With international travel restrictions also easing, we’d expect to see buyers who haven’t already returned come back in the market which will play into this recovery. Interestingly we have recently seen a considerable increase in North American, Australian and German buyers looking to buy in Mayfair, much more so than in recent years.
I also imagine that over the next few years wellness will grow as a key theme and that there will be expectations from future generations that developments will need to extend their offering - beyond the likes of pools, gyms and spas - to meet other lifestyle and health considerations such as medical concierges and “doggy day care”. Sustainability is also expected to form part of buyers’ search criteria in coming years.
10.) And finally, what has been your greatest achievement so far and what do you owe your successes to?
I’m incredibly proud of growing the Marylebone office from scratch to where it is now, just a couple of years into my career in Prime Central London. I’m also immensely proud of delivering a record year for the Mayfair office last year - its best year ever in its 11 year history, even more so at a time where we weren’t seeing the same levels of international buyers we usually would due to the pandemic. I took over as head of office two years ago and this couldn’t have been achieved without the excellent team members I have around me – fuelled by our collective expertise and our shared passion to provide exceptional customer service.
On a more personal note, my daughters (four and seven) motivate me daily as does my late father who inspired me to work hard and chase my dreams. To this day, I believe that working hard, excellent communication, attention to detail and passion to deliver superior customer service are essential to excelling in this field. I feel very lucky to work in a job that I love.
