London's Most Fashionable Neighbourhood Expects to Welcome More Residents Over the Next Five Years

As one of the most highly esteemed neighbourhoods in prime central London, Mayfair has come a long way from an empty piece of land to a blossoming community. Ideally situated in the heart of London's West End, to the east of Hyde Park, the district is a global hotspot providing residents and tourists alike with some of the best retail therapy, fine dining and luxury real estate in the world.

Mayfair began as an open, muddy space in the year 1675. It wasn't until the appearance of King James II in 1686 that the land was assigned a purpose when the annual May Fair was approved to be relocated here. The fair had been taking place in the first two weeks of May each year at the Haymarket up to this point, but the popularity meant a larger space was required, and so the appropriately named Mayfair was born.

After 60 long years of the May Fair taking place in Mayfair, residents decided they'd had enough of the gambling, drinking, and general rowdiness and the event moved in 1746, and finally relocated to Shepherd Market where it still takes place to date.

Following the departure, the Grosvenor family decided it was time to find another purpose for their neighbourhood and began building garden squares and streets around Mayfair, including the famous Grosvenor Square, and were joined by fellow affluent families who developed squares and streets of their own. It wasn't long before Mayfair was the neighbourhood of choice for London's aristocracy.

Mayfair's local economy is flourishing

There are now about 2,000 millionaires living in Mayfair, of which 20 are billionaires, and all earn six figure salaries. It is often thought that these wealthy residents do not provide much back into their local community. However, research earlier this year discovered this to be entirely untrue, and the affluent community actually contributes an abundant £2.5 million back into the local economy each year.

As a world famous destination, tourists flock to the shopping districts in the Luxury Quarter, where two-thirds of the top retailers worldwide are located on the high streets of Bond Street and Regent Street. Visitors are never short of places to stay, with 3,800 five star hotel rooms in the neighbourhood and when it comes to dining, Mayfair has the finest in the capital with 26 Michelin star restaurants.

The residents of Mayfair have been forever changing, and the landscape of the area continues to evolve in line with this. Back in the fifties, the typical resident was aged between 55 and 70, and this was true up until around the eighties when the community started to get younger. Nowadays, almost half of the community is made up of young, wealthy singles, couples, and families and more than half are under the age of 44.

It's not only age that has changed over the years, but Mayfair is also home to over 42 nationalities. The diverse community continues to develop with the changing wealth around the globe. As economies change and the money changes hands, as do the residents and homeowners in Mayfair.

New property developments lay down the future of Mayfair

The next five years hope to bring some exciting changes to the area, with 11 constructions already underway, which will add over 20 units to the market, and a further 21 are approved and in the pipeline. The addition of these new residential developments will provide ten percent more properties to the existing 4,363 residential addresses in the neighbourhood and welcome 25 percent new residents to the current population of 5,200.

The longstanding, number one expensive postcode in London, W1K is expected to be joined by W1S and W1J, which will also increase property values across all three areas. These new properties can bring in 100 percent more than the current market rate and 200 percent more if sold privately, due to the features and designers involved.

Mayfair has grown by 188 percent over the last decade, yet these new developments are the biggest changes yet and a significant step forward for the neighbourhood. Wetherell believes that the future is Mayfair and that it will continue to outperform the rest of prime central London moving forward.