Tom Swarbrick 4pm - 6pm
Yours for £3.5m - ‘Peerless’ country estate among the ‘finest homes in Wales’… or a 4-bed semi in north London
20 March 2024, 14:50 | Updated: 20 March 2024, 14:53
The state of London's inflated property market has once again left people in shock and disbelief after a somewhat unimpressive four-bedroom semi went on the market for £3.5 million - the same price as a Welsh country estate.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The modern family home in the leafy area of Canonbury, around the corner from Highbury and Islington tube station, appears to still be undergoing renovation, with recent images showing its front boarded up and panels of wood scattered throughout.
Despite its unspectacular exterior, the London home spreads across four floors with over 3,650 square feet.
It also boasts its own cinema room, hidden bar, and multiple reception rooms.
But while the house presents as perfectly plesant, the eye-watering price tag for the north London semi-detached home has proven too much for some, with many comparing it to far grander properties on sale across the rest of the country for the same price.
Read More: HMRC to close tax helpline, forcing customers struggling with tax returns to use online chatbot
"It’s a tatty three-bedroom semi with most of the living space in a basement with no windows and I love the suggestion that a five-foot by eight-foot cupboard with no window and an inward opening door halfway along the long wall is a fourth bedroom," one commenter said of the property.
Continuing to attract ridicule online, another suggested that if they had a spare £3.5 million they would instead "buy a house outside London for £500k or so, and live off the interest from the £3 million" that they saved.
A third wrote: "Seriously is someone taking the pi**? Someone would hand over £3.5m for that?"
But while it continued to attract controversy, others suggested it was "expensive, but probably not over priced".
"It may not seem that fancy," they said. "But it has four bedrooms all with an ensuite, plus less than a five minute walk from a tube station - which is then a few minutes away from central London."
"Also practically next door to Upper Street, whilst still in a fairly nice and pretty street in North London," they added.
The property is described by the estate agent on RightMove as a "beautiful family home" that is in"the final stages of a full renovation".
The lower ground area is "flooded with natural light" it said while the top two floors have three double bedrooms - each with an ensuite.
The average property currently fetches around £934,290, RightMove said. Flats specifically, however, have been sold in the past year for an average of £633,512.
Read More: Revealed: Full list of Marks & Spencer stores to close as 110 to shut their doors for good
In comparison, one house in Wales has caught the eye for the same price tag - but instead of being a semi-detached, buyers can instead scoop up a "peerless country estate with 13 acres of beautiful grounds".
The huge property in Cardigan, southwest Wales - dubbed Penylan Mansion - offers over 18,200 square feet with 17 bedrooms - including an entire three-bedroom wing.
As well as the main mansion, the land also comes with three separate cottages throughout the grounds and as well as a range of "part-converted and unconverted outbuildings".
"Once owned by the Queen’s cousin, this stunning mansion and its surrounding buildings have been restored to a condition that is truly fit for royalty," the property description read.
"Designed by the renowned architect Edward Haycock, the mansion was constructed around 1854 on the site of an older 18th century residence."