Home is where the art is: Brits are willing to pay an average of £8,500 extra for a home in an area with colourful street art, says new survey
A colourful street mural could become the next sign of gentrification - with more than half of Londoners saying they would rather live in area with street art than a coffee shop, and a third saying they would choose beautiful murals over good transport links.
Street art has become a highly desirable feature in London neighbourhoods, with 84 per cent of Londoners believing it boosts community spirit, according to research by the Affordable Art Fair.
Shoreditch is considered to be the street art capital of the UK by the Brits surveyed. House prices have rocketed over the past few years - but then it's not short of good coffee shops or transport links, either.
The report suggest al fresco art could even boost house prices, with Brits willing to pay up to £8,500 extra for a home in an area with colourful street art.
“Street art has had an overhaul of its image over the past few years,” says Affordable Art Fair Bristol director Sam Gare. "Mural artists creating beautiful, thought-provoking and inspirational works are decorating our cities and their popularity is reflected in the number of us calling out for more al fresco works."
The rise is popularity in recent years is thanks to famous artists such as Banksy, recently voted one of the nation’s favourite artists.
Alex Lucas, street artist and Affordable Art Fair Bristol's artist-in-residence, says: “I’ve been creating murals across Bristol for 10 years now (starting with my own house!) and I always love seeing the reactions of homeowners and the local community when they see the finished pieces.
“Many of my works start out as small projects and grow organically with the owner of the space and even little pieces can make an impact."
However, not everybody loves a boldly painted wall. The owner of Kensington’s notorious multi-million-pound red and white “striped house”, Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring, was taken to court because her chosen exterior was deemed “incongruous” with the local area.
The legal battle went all the way to the High Court, and Lisle-Mainwaring was eventually granted permission to keep the eye-catching stripes in April this year.
INTERIOR MURALS
Interior wall art is also popular with country house buyers, according to estate agent Strutt & Parker’s Mark Rimell.
Rimell says: “Quite often, you see wall murals in swimming pools, hallways and drawing rooms. Murals by a famous painter can really add a sense of class and uniqueness. It’s fashionable for people with artist friends to have them.
"I also see lots of medieval houses with ancient listed murals, some dating back to Henry VIII that are worth a lot of money on their own."
Iconic images such at The Great Wave by Japanese artist Hokusai are among the most reproduced on walls across the world, however, when asked which artists they would most like to decorate their exterior walls, Brits opted for Claude Monet and Spanish modern artists Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso.
Affordable Art Fair Bristol runs from Friday, September 8 – Sunday, September 10. You can get tickets here.