“Don’t stop, foot down, hundred miles an hour, go for it.” – Daniel Daggers
Daniel Daggers, founder of real estate company DDRE in London, England, describes himself as follows: “There’s no I in team, but there is one I in ‘super prime,’ and that is me. I’m Daniel Daggers, AKA Mr. Super Prime. I’ve sold over £5 billion worth of property to the rich and famous. Some people might describe me as the best agent that has ever lived.”
A pause.
“Some people. My mum.”
There are touches of new reality series Buying London that make it watchable, and Daggers’ pleasant demeanor and occasional flashes of self-deprecating humor are two of them.
“For decades,” Daniel continues, “the luxury property market has been dominated by large companies who are stuck in their ways. The big organizations tend to employ the cliché real estate agent. Old school money went to the right universities. They look the same, act the same.”
Daniel also says cutesy things to his staff, like “my pleasure, treasure.” But take that in with the high-end British accent, of course.
But really the most compelling reason to tune is – and the show itself seems to be deeply aware of this – is to behold drop dead gorgeous (and galactically expensive) houses, flats, and streets in some of London’s toniest neighborhoods.
That being said, the thing that we look for most in reality shows outside of the HGTV or fixer upper show zone – are compelling characters doing interesting things and the drama that springs up from that – and in that way real estate value of Buying London, so to speak, isn’t really there.
If you squint and watch Buying London as a purely real estate-meets-infomercial-ish type show, it’s quite pleasant and interesting enough, I suppose. For example, we learn things like: “London is made up of historic villages, places like Mayfair, Belgravia, St. John’s Wood,” and “Properties in the central London villages are remarkably expensive, so you surprisingly get very little for your money,” and “Per square foot, London is much more expensive than Sydney, LA, and practically every other city across the planet.”
People looking to buy into central London, we’re told, are looking for prestige, culture, and “the history of London itself.” And if that’s not enough: “London is the luxury-property capital of the world.”
If there’s any real drama on Buying London, it involves “who’s gonna get the big listing” among DDRE staffers Rasa, Reme, and Lauren.
But really most of the attention is paid to the real estate visuals – which as I noted are really quite stunning.
The episode is split up by interstitials to let us know where we’ve landed around London, such as “Radlett WD7 – Hertsmere.” And then many of the homes we’re introduced to have their own names, such as “Halcyon Hall, Radlett,” which always makes me chuckle.
We learn that Halcyon Hall, for example, has 9 beds, 9 baths, and 15,000 square feet, with a “guide price” of £15 million, which would deliver a commission of £300,000. Obviously, that’s a ton of money, but it’s interesting to note that that two percent commission rate can actually be higher in the U.S.
Halcyon Hall also drips Tudor and Shakespearean vibes, and one of the real estate agent’s quips, “Like, are we at a mini-Hogwarts?”
Some light squabbling ends up going on over who “deserves” the listing more, and one of them says, “You’re saying that you get this listing, you have to be friends with the boss, right?” Shots fired!
Later in the episode, Daniel congratulates Lauren on getting the listing, and then the (light) drama on whether she truly deserved it or played up her friendship with Daniel to get the listing (or something). We end up hearing a bunch of things along the lines of: “It’s very clear to me that Lauren is Daniel’s favorite and it’s clear that she’s using it to her advantage.”
We also visit “Mayfair W1K – City of Westminster,” where we meet property developer, John Caudwell. Daniel is trying to get in with Caudwell to help get future deals going, and it was stretches like this where I vaguely wished Daniel and his company well but really questioned why I was supposed to care about these obviously super successful people working on getting richer.
In any event, we also get to see “Mayfair House, Mayfair,” and its 15 bedrooms, 18 baths, 45,000 square feet. The “guide price” on this one is “TBD,” but let’s just say it’s not cheap. “Buckingham Palace aside, this is probably one of the world’s most expensive homes. Could be worth over 300 million pounds. So frankly, if I sold it, I’d be a very happy man,” Danny says.
After that one, looking at the relatively modest “Regent’s Park NW1 – City of Westminster” (5 beds, 5 baths, just under 5,000 square feet, £12,500,000 asking price) flat seemed paltry in comparison, even though it’s in a neighborhood studded with celebrities – at another place we see a house that Salma Hayak used to live in – and the megarich.
At the end of the episode, the team goes out to dinner. Juliana and Oli get flirty in front of Oli’s wife Vivi (yes, Oli and Vivi are married, I know), and this might have been the 30 most interesting seconds beyond the stunning houses and ultra-quaint London neighborhoods that only billionaires could possibly afford these days.