Live it like Beckham
Can celebrity connections help sell a home in today’s troubled property market? The answer, as far as David Beckham is concerned, is definitely ‘no’, say Andre Cooray
In November last year a three-bed Victorian terrace on Norman Road in Leytonstone, east London was put on the market by a very optimistic local agent for HK$10.8 million, at least three times its likely value at the time. The reason for the inflated asking price? It is David Beckham’s childhood home.
Interestingly, the property’s owners, Samira and Sulman Ali, had no idea that the former captain of the England National Squad had once lived there when they bought. They were only clued in when a local man Colin Evans, who researches the lives of some of the areas more famous residents (including Alfred Hitchcock and David Bailey), knocked on their door.
But their hopes of cashing in on the Beckham brand may have cost the Alis dear. More than six months down the line the house remains unsold and was removed from auction on May 11, as it failed to reach its guide price of HK$2.7 million. Only two people expressed interest in purchasing the home, and the owners withdrew the sale just as it closed at HK$13,000 less than the reserve price. They had hoped its celebrity link would help fetch at least HK$6.4 million at the Savills auction.
The Beckham house, which has French windows at the back, a small garden and wooden floors throughout, is where the footballer spent the first two years of his life before his parents, kitchen fitter Ted Beckham and his wife Sandra (both fanatical Manchester United supporters then and since) moved to Chingford in Essex.
The owners of five years say that they are in no hurry to sell the property and are planning to put it back on auction when the market is more stable. A similar home in the same area sold for HK$2.2 million at the Savills auction on May 11. Neighbouring houses on Norman Road were selling for HK$3.2 million last year, 14 percent more than they are today.
The owners hope that a Beckham fan will one day pay a high price for the home and turn it into a museum. However, the decision to inflate the price at a time when many homes in the vicinity are being repossessed can be seen as misguided at best. Beckham is reportedly not interested in buying the house but would like to take his kids to see it one day, perhaps to learn about his very humble origins.
In stark contrast, Rowneybury House, the Beckham’s Hertfordshire home in the UK, aka Beckingham Palace, is a colossal Georgian-style residence, estimated to be worth over HK$89 million. More recently, the Beckhams purchased a 13,000 square-foot, Italian-style mansion with six bedrooms and nine bedrooms in Beverly Hills for HK$140 million. The LA pad is conveniently located down the road from Posh and Beck’s friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
The Beckhams have reportedly given the keys to their Dubai waterfront mansion at Palm Jemeirah resort, worth HK$124 million to Victoria’s parents, Tony and Jackie Adams, as a gift. But Beckham still owns the place, which was purchased in 2002 for HK$12.4 million. In addition, they own a three-storey holiday villa in Koh Samui, Thailand worth HK$44.9 million that looks over a private beach and was completed last year. There are also rumours that the couple have secured an apartment at Burj Dubai Tower, in Dubai, set to be the tallest skyscraper in the world on completion in 2009.
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