London landmarks are leveraged to sell everything from tea towels to luxury holidays so it is no surprise that their images pop up all over Rightmove too.
Whether it is “close to Buckingham Palace” or has “views of St Paul’s Cathedral”, a property listing is sure to namedrop any famous sights that happen to be in the vicinity.
Now the merits of this approach have been confirmed with research revealing the premium that buyers will pay for the kudos of living near some of the capital's most iconic attractions.
Data pulled together by estate agents Foxtons shows the uplift in house price available from proximity to a landmark. But the ones that provide the biggest price boost are not necessarily the ones that spring to mind first.
Here are the most valuable London landmarks to claim as your neighbour.
1. Tower of London
For centuries, the looming presence of the Tower of London sent fear into prisoners being forcefully dragged to its cells.
Hulked moodily alongside the Thames on the eastern fringe of the City, the Tower started life as a royal residence but it is most famous in its use as the jail that held everyone from Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell to Guy Fawkes and the Kray twins (who were summoned there to begin their National Service in 1952).
The Tower of London, a designated World Heritage Site that is home to the Crown Jewels and almost a thousand years of history, is open to visitors every day to the 23 December. Now a glimpse of it can more than triple the value of your home.
Properties within the same EC3 N postcode as William the Conqueror’s 11th Century fortress have an average value of £1.5 million, according to the data.
This means buying in the neighbourhood roughly bounded by Tower Hill and Aldgate Tube stops will set you back 222 per cent more than the £475,243 cost of a typical property in the wider borough of Tower Hamlets.
If you're in the market, this two-bedroom apartment on Minories, for sale through Regal London Properties, comes with access to a private cinema, yoga studio and pool for £1.15 million.
As an added bonus, Tower Hamlets residents can visit the Tower for just £1 on production of proof of address and a valid library card.
2. Shakespeare’s Globe / The Shard
On London’s celebrated South Bank, residents of the SE1 9 postcode can boast not one but two famous landmarks on their doorsteps.
With both the historic Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and modern skyline definer The Shard office tower within the district, homes here also command an average price of £1.5 million.
This is 177 per cent higher than the typical Southwark cost of £546,212 according to the Foxtons research. All that lists in the postcode is indeed gold, it would appear.
Shakespeare's Globe is a recreation of the original theatre built on the South Bank in 1599 and destroyed by fire 14 years later.
It was rebuilt and reopened in 1997 about 750ft from its original location. It now often hosts plays written by the Bard as well as offering themed tours.
Invest & Co has a two-bed apartment for sale on the 13th floor of Southbank Tower for a shade under £1.5 million. And it comes with bonus views of the London Eye.
3. Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall was originally proposed by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert but he died before his ideas came to fruition. It was named for him instead and his golden memorial sits in the park across the road.
Situated between Hyde Park and the leafy streets of South Kensington, it is little surprise that the Royal Albert Hall is surrounded by desirable property.
Indeed an average house price of £1.8 million makes SW7 2 the most expensive postcode on the Foxtons list.
However, the 150-year-old concert hall dances to its own tune, with its immediate district commanding a 93 per cent premium over the £954,356 average house price across the borough of Westminster.
This three-bed apartment on the first floor of a block just off Exhibition Road is listed by Chestertons for £1.75 million and has off-street parking available subject to separate negotiation.
4. London Eye
Tourists love the 135m-tall wheel on the South Bank as a fun way to get their bearings on the layout of the city when they first arrive.
They may not have invented the Ferris wheel when it was built, but the Eye was the biggest of its kind in the world when it opened a few months into the new millennium and has spawned copycat offerings in multiple other cities.
But it’s not just visitors who are hauled to great heights by the attraction — properties in the SE1 7 postcode fetch an average price of just over £1 million, according to Foxtons.
This makes the district 81 per cent more expensive to buy in than Lambeth as a whole, where the typical price is £556,110, the estate agent calculates.
JLL has listed a two-bedroom apartment close to Waterloo Station — described as "moments from the iconic London Eye” — for £1.55 million.
5. Hyde Park’s Joy of Life fountain
Whether it is the fountain designed by TB Huxley-Jones, the annual Winter Wonderland festive attraction or the Monopoly value of Park Lane, the W1K postcode has plenty to draw in buyers.
The typical price of a home in the neighbourhood is £1.7 million, according to the research, some 77 per cent higher than the wider borough of Westminster.
Plenty for residents of the district to be joyful about, it seems.
Foxtons has a two-bed wooden-floored flat up for sale in a small block near Bond Street station — described as “moments from Hyde Park” — at £1.75 million.
Hyde Park hosted the Victorian era's centrepiece the Great Exhibition in the original Crystal Palace in 1851 and has remained at the heart of life in the capital ever since.
Foxtons chief executive Guy Gittins said: “For most, sought after amenities include a mix of commutable transport links, nearby supermarkets or great educational institutions.
“However, for those purchasing at the very top end of the London market, living within close proximity of a famous London brandmark can also be a huge selling point in itself.
“Of course, such properties don’t come cheap and not only will they cost you a considerable amount, they are also likely to command a hefty premium when compared to the wider boroughs in which they are located.”
