Latest News & Press Releases
2012: The story so far.... What a fantastic start to the year our clients have had with nearly every property on our books selling like hot cakes! Faced with a lack of supply buyers have been keen to secure their intended purchase by offering the asking price or in a few cases in excess of. As in 2011 we have already secured Off Market sales whereby our registered applicants get to hear and see newly available homes BEFORE they go to the open market. This suits many of our clients and the opportunity is warmly received by our buyers.
April 2011: Spotted by a former client in Beijing -it appears that even the Chinese know which estate agency is worth following!http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/europe/2011-05/27/content_12592217.htm
February 2011: Green light is given to new 'resident roamer' scheme for Islington.
Final approval has been given to Islington Council\'s 'resident roamer' scheme, which gives local drivers more freedom to park locally.
The 'resident roamer' scheme begins on February 28, and will let resident permit holders park in any resident parking bay between 11am-3pm Monday-Saturday, except in the Arsenal match day controlled area during matches and events at Emirates Stadium.
It means local drivers will be able to visit family, friends, shops and services like doctor\'s surgeries and dentists more easily.
The roamer scheme is part of a set of improvements to Islington\'s parking system including the introduction of unlimited visitor vouchers.
For more information about parking see www.islington.gov.uk/parking, email parking.services@islington.gov.uk or call 020 7527 2000.
October 2010 - Ignore what you hear!
The market remains strong despite the doom and gloom merchants suggesting otherwise. House sales in particular have been superb in recent months with multiple buyers chasing the limited available supply. This is true of North London generally and we are desperate to receive instructions on more homes to enable us to offer them to our waiting buyers. So if you are selling now or are considering doing so please call us, without obligation to discuss your options.
July 20th 2010
WHITEHALLS sign exclusive contract with
The Digital Property Group
Surfers browsing for property in N19 on Prime Location, one of the leading property portals, will come face to face with a selection of WHITEHALLS homes as we have aquired exclusive rights to the \'Featured Property\' display box. This it is hoped will drive even more potential buyers to view our portfolio of homes, which will be a BIG plus for all of our existing and future clients. Watch out for the \'go live\' date on or around the 27th of July.
July 12th 2010
Great news!
We are delighted to welcome to Whitehalls a new member of staff; BEN ROSENTHAL. Ben, the eldest son of Whitehalls MD Gary Rosenthal, hails from a commercial agency background. Ben will initially be dealing with the flourishing flat market and in time will be responsible for expanding the business. We wish him every success.
May 20th 2010
From Sky News:
People planning to sell their properties will no longer need home information packs (Hips), the new coalition Government has announced.
The packs, which were first introduced in 2007, were designed to simplify the process of selling a home, but attracted widespread criticism.
Housing minister Grant Shapps said: 'Today the new Government is ensuring that
home information packs are history.
'This is a great example of how we are determined to get straight down to work and cut pointless red tape which is strangling the market.
'By suspending home information packs today, it means that home sellers will be able to get on with marketing their home without having to shell out hundreds of pounds upfront.'
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats pledged last week in their coalition agreement to get rid of the packs and keep only Energy performance certificates, which show how energy efficient a property is.
Estate agents largely welcomed the news that Hips would be scrapped with immediate effect, and praised the Government for its rapid move.
April 29th
Whitehalls can now be followed on
http://twitter.com/whitehalls_gary
April 2010:
Demand Continues!
Sellers take note.....Lack of stock maintains bouyant selling prices as demand continues to outstrip supply.
April 2010:
WHITEHALLS launch their fresh new web site!
Your positive and negative comments about our new web site are most welcome....what would you like to see tweaked or added? Contact us at gary@whitehalls.co.uk
More For Your Money: Whitehall Park , N19
A pocket of period homes By Robert Liebman
18 May 2005
It may be Upper Holloway in postcode and geography, but the Whitehall Park Conservation Area is really Highgate in architecture, ambience, and most other attributes except, fortunately, price.
You can be excused for not being familiar with this north-London enclave, even if you regularly travel on the A1 Archway Road and Hornsey Lane that hem it in. Those that can afford the pricey properties in the area gravitate toward Highgate and Muswell Hill, while bargain-seekers contend with the vastness of Upper and Lower Holloway to the south. Both Holloway\'s harbour numerous pockets of period properties, but the houses in and around Whitehall Park are large and well maintained. Many offer panoramic views of the West End and the City, with St Paul \'s, the London Eye, Telecom Tower , Canary Wharf tower and 'The Gherkin' clearly visible.
Joy and David Dean hit the jackpot when they bought a roomy character home on Cheverton Road five years ago, although they believed at the time that they\'d settled for a consolation prize. 'Shortly after we got married, we decided to sell my flat in Crouch End and David\'s in south London , and use our combined resources to buy a house in Crouch End. But Crouch End was being over-hyped and we couldn\'t find a house that we liked or that was big enough. Then we discovered this area.'
The discovery proved propitious, especially when their son was born three and a half years ago. 'Our life changed. Now, I like being outside Crouch End but able to access it,' Joy says. 'Crouch End is almost too popular, with every vacant building being converted into flats. But we like the buzz, and occasionally we walk over for the restaurants and shops. We go to Highgate and Waterlow Park for coffee and a change of scenery. Our neighbours are very friendly, and it is quiet and peaceful. The A1 is nearby, but we never hear any traffic.'
The best houses in this conservation area offer the all the most desirable features of a period property, such as carved stonework and doors with stained-glass panels outside, and original fireplaces, tessellated flooring and ceiling mouldings inside. But location can be important: 'We live on the north side of Cheverton Road , and the tall houses opposite block our view. Their view is great, but our gardens are bigger. Things balance out, in the end,' says Joy.
Reluctantly, the Deans are selling, leaving London altogether for family reasons. Their house is one of several on Cheverton Road that the estate agents Whitehalls are selling, all between £625,000 and £630,000.
What properties are available?
Gary Rosenthal, managing director of Whitehalls, estimates that within the formal boundaries of the conservation area between Hornsey Lane and St Johns Way, there are about 1,000 homes, a total that includes conversion and purpose-built flats and estates. Period homes in popular roads number between 450 and 500, a number of them being conversions.
What are the prices like?
The estate agent Whitehalls is selling a two-bedroom one-reception conversion flat on Gladsmuir Road for £245,000, and a three-bedroom two-reception room conversion on the same road for only £15,000 more. The latter, however, has restricted head height in two bedrooms. A varied selection of four- and five-bedroom houses on Harberton, Cheverton and Gladsmuir roads and Whitehall Park , costing between £499,950 and £675,000, are available at Whitehalls.
How do the house prices compare with immediate neighbours?
Generally, prices rise as you go north from Holloway to Whitehall Park and then to Highgate. Gary Rosenthal says that a three/four-bedroom house selling for £550,000-£600,000 in Whitehall Park would command perhaps £375,000 to £400,000 further south in Holloway, but closer to £800,000 in Highgate. Similarly, within the conservation area itself, prices rise the further north - or up the hill - you go.
What is behind those lovely Victorian façades?
The oldest character homes date to around 1890, and many have since been extended, expanded and refurbished. 'Tired' homes - ones needing substantial refurbishment - still come on to the market. Joy Dean says that 'even during our five years here, we have seen a fantastic number of sales, and often the houses are first totally gutted.'
What about transport?
Tube stations in the area include Archway for the Northern Line, and Holloway Road for the Piccadilly Line. Upper Holloway station serves Silverlink\'s Gospel Oak-Barking line. Archway Road (A1) provides quick access to the North Circular and the M1.
What are the schools like?
Ashmount Primary School is slightly below average in English, maths and science, whereas Coleridge Primary on Crescent Road, just across the border from Islington to Haringey, achieved between 93 and 98 per cent in all three subjects. The estate agent, Gary Rosenthal believes that families sometimes choose Whitehall Park over Highgate or other pricier areas and use the savings for private education.
What about green spaces?
Nearby are Hampstead Heath; the smaller, perfectly formed Waterlow Park; and Highgate Cemetery, with its ornate memorial carvings in the older part of the necropolis, and famous inhabitants in the newer section, such as George Eliot and Karl Marx.
