What dragons don’t know about London house prices

Smaug, the dragon made famous by JR Tolkein, famously slept on a massive hoard of gold in his cavernous cellar.

Tolkein’s writeup of Smaug is somewhat unflattering. It suggests he was the kind of dragon who had another room full of toilet paper, not to mention several jerry cans of petrol out the back, and even some pasta that went out of date last summer.

But the dragon missed a trick when it came to protecting his assets. Let’s call a spade a spade: Smaug let his property slide. The cellar hadn’t been decorated in years. Prime real estate, but so poorly presented that no buyer would come near. Even relatives would stay away at Christmas.

No Londoner, you’ll agree, would be so foolish.

It’s true that house price growth in London slowed this year, despite more homes sold in the first half of 2021 than any year since 2007. Lockdown, the stamp duty holiday, and working-from-home convinced many families to flee to the country.

But the average price for a property in London now the highest on record at £525,893. Enough to make most dragons sleep peacefully.

Which only goes to highlight the fact – overlooked by Smaug – that keeping the place in tiptop decorative order is the best way to maximise the value of a property and make that gold grow.

Tolkein – a good writer in many other respects, it must be said – failed to comment on this. Another chapter in Lord of the Rings might well have explored the effects of poor property care on Smaug’s net worth, and on his Christmas celebrations. What a movie that would make!

The GD Parvin Painting Hobbits are, thankfully, ready to help.

If your cavern, cellar or castle could do with a lick of paint, our human estimator is ready to make a journey to your door. Call on 0208 946 5045 for an apppointment, or book a virtual quotation with RoboQuote here: 

Geoff Parvin
BSc in Wizardry (failed)