October celebrity moves

For every piece of bad news, there’s good news for someone else, and in the world of property, it seems that divorce brings a constant stream of properties onto the housing market. While we sincerely do not wish anyone any ill, such instances, in a strange way, do keep the housing market ticking over. While it looks like Brad and Angie may not sort their troubles any time soon, there’s plenty of talk around about other celebrity moves:

A house with a certain magic

We’re big fans of actress, Ivy League graduate and feminist Emma Watson. Fans of her character Hermione Granger might be interested to know that the house in north London that served as her childhood home in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is now for sale. The six bedroom house has been owned by the same family for the past 60 years, although they were happy to share it with the film crew and stars for a week back in 2009. With an asking price of £2.4 million, you’ll need to magic up some serious cash to afford the detached home. We have this alternative Hampstead property nearby.

A wilde party pad

Mayfair has certainly changed since the endlessly quotable Oscar Wilde lived there in the nineteenth century. The novel and playwright lived in Half Moon Street, with his house being the inspiration for Algernon Moncrief’s abode in The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde would no doubt be surprised to see that his bohemian neighbourhood has now turned into one of London’s most salubrious areas with prices to match. His former home is now on the market for £14.95 million and includes features that would baffle the Irish wit including a home cinema, gym and steam room. We suspect Oscar Wilde would not approve. This three bedroom apartment in nearby Hyde Park would probably appeal to his tastes a bit better.

Perhaps a bit more spice would help

Although he may be an outstanding chef and campaigner, Jamie Oliver seems to be property kryptonite. His home in Primrose Hill has failed to sell so Oliver is having to de-convert the house back into the two separate terraced houses it was originally. It also turns out that the Clerkenwell warehouse that was the setting for his first television series, The Naked Chef, has also failed to find a buyer. The flat originally went on the market for £2,695 million last year but it didn’t shift. The current owners have recently put the property back on the market for £2.75 million. Might we suggest they put the property on the lettings market instead as flats like that are in high demand amongst City workers, including this spacious apartment in EC1.

It’s tasteful. No, really.

Walking into Dinos Chapman’s house in Shoreditch, it’s hard to know what to expect. The ground-breaking artist, who rose to fame creating challenging works of art with his brother, Jake Chapman, including The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Sum of All Evil, has put his 3,000 sq ft home in east London on the market. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the property has an industrial aesthetic with lots of concrete and steel. Fortunately, though, there isn’t a naked child mannequin or army of mutilated soldiers in sight. The property is currently on sale for £2.95 million, confounding everything your parents said about starving artists. We have a flat nearby in, appropriately enough, Avantgarde Place.

For more inspiration, take a look at other properties to rent here.